Greatest Military disasters

[apowell]

I'm currently reading an excellant book called Sinister Twilight: The Fall of Singapore and was amazed at the incompetence of the British High Command which resulted in the humilating surrender of Singapore on the 15th Febuary 1942. The Allied Army outnumbered the Japanese by 20,000 and It was the largest surrender of British led forces condemning 80,000 Allied troops to Japanese POW Camps. Many Commenwealth troops had only just recently arrived at Singapore before being forced to surrender.

Winston Churchill wrote on receiving news of the surrender "I put the telephone down. I was thankful to be alone. In all the war I never received a more direct shock."

Anymore Military Disasters ?

[MarkCDodd]

Any single battle in WW1 under the command of British Generals.

Pearl Harbor was a disaster that needn't have happened. Plenty of warning. Mini sub sunk. Plane picked up on radar. Duh!

The Battle of Isandlwana was a disaster for both the British and Zulu. Stupidity cost over 1300 British lives but the wrath of the Empire cost the Zulus their culture, traditional lands and genrations of young men.

Any battle involving Italian troops before they changed sides in WWII.

Singapore was disgusting but France and England had the manpower, tanks and planes to destroy the German Army soon after they invaded Poland. They just lacked politicians with balls.

[beardie]

probably churchill thought when he heard about singapore was 'not again'

people seem to forget that churchill when first lord of the admiralty in world war one and pushed for the dardanelles/gallipoli campaign

[Guinney1971]

my great grandfather, George Herbert Allen (b1893) survived the siege of Kut in Messopitamia (Iraq?) in WW1. His commander was pleading for the British to send them help, but it never came despite promises, and they were massacared by the Turks. Apparantly the last animal to survive was the commander's horse who was eventually sacrificed as they had nothing to eat

After the war, my gt grandfather's commander was lambasted as the military turned it around to make it out that it was his fault so many men (and horses) were killed, although my gt grandfather always knew the truth, but it fell on deaf ears. The memory of Kut stayed with him all his life until he died in August 1981 at the age of 88.

Claire

[dudleytaylor]

My Hubby watched a program on tele about the British surrendering to the Japs. He could not understand why we gave in . Dt