We are also here not investigating to see which WWI leader made the single worst decision. He then sold his services to the Soviets, before betraying them to side with the Basmachi movement, which didn’t go particularly well either. 1914 – Jan 1915) but who also then blamed his defeat (falsely) on the Armenians and subsequently instigated and played a key role in the Armenian genocide.
That latter prize probably goes to İsmail Enver Pasha, Ottoman Minister of War from 1914 to 1918, a vain, arrogant strutting sort of man who not only utterly botched the only battle in which he commanded directly ( Sarikamish, Dec. Now I should be clear here what I mean by ‘worst general.’ What I am assessing here is the fellow who was worst at generaling, rather than the worst human being who happened to be a general. Via Wikipedia, Marshal of Italy Luigi Cadorna. While I argued that the tactical problem of trench warfare probably wasn’t solvable by any general, that doesn’t mean that some generals didn’t perform better than others under the difficult conditions imposed by the stalemate. Now, as I noted at the time, there is some stiff competition for that position. I said that Cadorna was my pick for the worst general of World War I.
I thought I ought to substantiate the nearly endless shade towards Luigi Cadorna, Italian Army Chief of Staff from 1914-1917 (though I realize after writing this that what I actually ought to have done is just told the same bad joke about Cadorna 11 times in a row and let that stand as the explanation). This week we’re going to break from our normal fare and take a bit of a lark.
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