Most Epic Screwups in History?

[Sharwood]

As I should, they shouldn't have invaded China in the first place. There was absolutely no reason to invade China, nothing to gain from doing so, and plenty to lose. And the US offered diplomatic solutions several times, Japan just turned them down, misunderstood them. Negotiations could potentially have averted this. Though, after the Rape of Nanking became public knowledge in the US, a diplomatic solution became more unlikely.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

I'm surprised that Versailles has been brought up only tangentially thus far. It was clearly a disaster.

I'm not sure whether I want to include St. Germain/Trianon along with it, though. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was clearly unsustainable and would have collapsed on its own given time. Euthanasia may have been the least bad option.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Or, on the theme of big empires needlessly collapsing, Glasnost.

 

[Sharwood]

Or, on the theme of big empires needlessly collapsing, Glasnost.

I don't think there was anything needless about that collapse. Glasnost may ave actually been along the lines of pulling off a band-aid really quick - it hurts, but only for a short time. Pull it off slowly, it's worse. The real blunder there was in the post-break-up handling of the economy.

 

[Dachs]

Trianon was in many ways a recognizance of a fait accompli. To all intents and purposes the Habsburg state had collapsed by the winter and spring of 1918-9 anyway. Emasculating Hungary may have been a poor decision, but TBH I can't see Bela Kun or another Hungarian revolutionary not popping up in a Hungary closer to the borders of the Crown Lands of St. Istvan.

As I should, they shouldn't have invaded China in the first place. There was absolutely no reason to invade China, nothing to gain from doing so, and plenty to lose. And the US offered diplomatic solutions several times, Japan just turned them down, misunderstood them. Negotiations could potentially have averted this. Though, after the Rape of Nanking became public knowledge in the US, a diplomatic solution became more unlikely.

Yes, I like to bring this up, but none of the Japan apologists seems to care. If Japan hadn't gone all imperialist and genocidal, there would have been no oil embargo. Simple enough, right?

 

[Camikaze]

I don't think there was anything needless about that collapse. Glasnost may ave actually been along the lines of pulling off a band-aid really quick - it hurts, but only for a short time. Pull it off slowly, it's worse. The real blunder there was in the post-break-up handling of the economy.

True. While the policy of perestroika was a good idea, it failed due to aspects involved in it such as decentralization (contributing to breakup of USSR). This was followed up by the bigger screwup- Boris Yeltsin's 1991 policy of shock therapy. While it may have been less painful regarding civil liberties, it certainly wasn't regarding the economy. It basically tried to open Russia up to the world overnight. It caused hyperinflation in the Russian economy, making Russia a less attractive investment option. So, in effect it achieved the opposite of its goal. I think Russian GDP almost halved in the next five years, and the country only really recovered from the depression caused by this just in time for the 1998 Russian Financial Crisis.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Versailles wasn't in and of itself a disaster - it was just too harsh for a people who didn't see themselves as defeated. Then it was not enforced.

 

[Agent327]

As I should, they shouldn't have invaded China in the first place. There was absolutely no reason to invade China, nothing to gain from doing so, and plenty to lose. And the US offered diplomatic solutions several times, Japan just turned them down, misunderstood them. Negotiations could potentially have averted this. Though, after the Rape of Nanking became public knowledge in the US, a diplomatic solution became more unlikely.

The real screwup then would be the failure of democrats over autocrats in Japan itself - somewhat similar to what happended in Germany, Italy, Spain, etc.

 

[say1988]

So let me get this straight. There best option was to enter into a war with the other major Pacific power?

They were going to war with the US, no matter what realistic action they took. It was just a matter of time. Due to decisions made in the past, they were in an impossible situation.

They started the war on their own terms with an attempt to cripple the US Navy. It was their best chance in a hopeless situation.

As I should, they shouldn't have invaded China in the first place.

Then that is the screw-up. Not even the Japanese had time machines in 1941.

Japanese culture and the military leadership would not have allowed a treaty that would be fair in the eyes of the West.
They refused to accept defeat when they were being beaten everywhere, and the home islands were threatened with invasion. They would not have accepted anything other than a clear victory when their military was winning, especially one that would still leave them at the mercy of a foreign country's supply of oil and other raw materials.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Athens trusting Phillip II to take Amphipolis "on their behalf."

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I thought of another one: Elphinstone's decision not to stay in the Bala Hissar through winter during the First Anglo-Afghan War. Elphinstone had two options, once the cantonment had been effectively overrun: coop up in the ancient fortress of Kabul, or retreat to Jallalabad. Of the two other British forces in the area, only one had chosen to respond to the distress call from Kabul; that from Kandahar. After it had been stopped by Ghilzai tribesmen just north of Ghanzi, Elphinstone was forced to retreat from his fortified camp. The other army, in the north, had, though a mistake in communication, turned and garrissoned Jallalabad instead of coming to Kabul's aid. Elphinstone, having just been cooped up in the Bala Hissar for three weeks, absolutely despised the place, and made the decision to retreat East to Jallalabad. After negotiating free passage from the city, the large army came under heavy assault from Ghilzai tribesmen, some stirred up by local clerics into Jihad against the British, others simply out taking their shots at the retreating invaders. The retreat became a massacre in the narrow gullies and canyons along the route, and, once on even ground, became a desperate running battle between thousands of Ghilzais and forty or so British troopers through two feet of snow. Few of the men had any working guns, and most simply relied on their swords. The Afghans delivered the coupe de grace atop a small hill. When a surgeon named William Brydon stumbled into Jallalabad days later, just barely alive, the garrison set out lights atop the towers of the city to guide any more wandering survivors. It took several days for them to realize that Brydon was the only man of the 15,000 who left Kabul to make it alive.

Here's a painting capturing the event, called "Remnants of an Army."

 

[sydhe]

The Khitan ruled an empire north of Song China; they called themselves the Liao Dynasty and ruled over 16 prefectures of China itself. which the Song resented, but got creamed whenever they tried to get them. So when the Jurchen revolted in the 12th century, the Song allied with them, and the two of them took out the Liao, and the Jurchen promptly turned on the Song and took over the Northern half of China, forming the Jin Dynasty.

A century later the Southern Song made an alliance with the Mongols to take out the Jin... Well, at least China got reunited.

 

[mechaerik]

Treaty of Versailles.
That set Germany up for some serious anger, which Adolf Hitler more than took advantage of.
Another huge error- Nazi Germany created the Me-262, the first jet aircraft, in time for the battle of britain, but Hitler wanted it to be converted to a bomber, wasting 1-2 years in development.

 

[Dachs]

Nazi Germany created the Me-262, the first jet aircraft, in time for the battle of britain

No, they didn't.

 

[Sharwood]

No, they didn't.

Beat me to it.

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but the Anglo-Zanzibar war is one of the most comical events in world history.

 

[Luckymoose]

No, they didn't.

Not like it would have mattered anyway. German air strategy at the time focused more on the Stuka and they would have still blundered it up.

 

[Dachs]

Not like it would have mattered anyway. German air strategy at the time focused more on the Stuka and they would have still blundered it up.

If German air strategy at the time focused on dive-bombing, why were anti-aircraft guns and air superiority aircraft taking up such a huge portion of their industrial capacity?

 

[Quildavyr]

Planned ottoman expansion to Malta,I guess..

 

[Dachs]

Planned ottoman expansion to Malta,I guess..

Meh, that wasn't such a big deal. Bayezid Yilderim demanding tribute from Timur's vassals, now that was an epic screwup.

 

[Sharwood]

Planned ottoman expansion to Malta,I guess..

Planning it wasn't the screw-up. Failing, now that was a screw-up.