In the history of the United States, there were five of the most humiliating battles, in which the opponent was beaten mercilessly. In one war, even the capital was tragically captured, the White House was also burned down, these experiences have become The scars the U.S. military least wants to mention!
So, which five wars did the US military lose? Why did they fail? In this issue of
, we will tell you the stories behind America’s five most failed battles!
Background
As a relatively young country, the history of the United States' development is also a history of aggression and expansion. These five battles basically took place during aggression, and they also paid a heavy price for their ugly behavior. The price of blood !
The Battle of the Little Bighorn
First of all, the first battle that made the United States feel humiliated occurred between American troops and Indians .
In 1872, the Americans discovered gold mines in the Black Mountain area, the holy land of the Sioux Indians, so they directly dispatched the most elite 7th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, planned to directly rob !
In order to defend their holy land, the Sioux Indians also decided to dispatch their elite troops to fight the U.S. Army. The two sides met on a narrow road along the Little Bighorn River, and the earth-shattering Battle of the Little Bighorn River officially kicked off!
The commander of the US military in this battle was the famous US military generalGeorge Armstrong Custer, who was famous throughout the army for his bravery and skill in fighting and became a brigadier general at the age of 23.
But in this battle, because Custer underestimated the enemy, actually ordered his small force to be divided into three, allowing the main force to attack the two wings of the Indian army from two directions, while he only led 211 A cavalryman, attack the enemy from the front!
It was this hasty decision that paved the way for the failure of the US military.
The commander of the Indian troops saw through the US military's strategy at a glance, so he ordered the two wings to be drawn in, to focus on the front . A formation like
made it impossible for the two wings of the US military to function at all, and the more than 200 US troops on the front of became a living target for the opponent, and the entire army was eventually annihilated!
This battle was the most tragic defeat suffered by the US military in the battle against the Indians. This battle also became the most shameful event in the history of the 1st Cavalry Division!
However, the victory or defeat of a battle could not change the unfavorable situation of the Indians. The entire Indian race was almost exterminated by the US military!
As time went by, the United States not only did not repent at all, but instead vigorously covered up its past atrocities. The 1st Cavalry Division, which was beaten to pieces by the Indians, was also packaged by the United States as an invincible division that "had not been defeated in hundreds of years." .
However, in the 20th century, this ace once joined a large army to invade another country. As a result, was beaten mercilessly again, and the United States also lost face in this war!
Korean War
And the second battle that caused the US military to lose face was the Korean War !
In 1950, the Korean War broke out. In order to maintain its hegemony, the United States openly united with 15 other countries to intervene in North Korea's internal affairs with force. United Nations Commander-in-Chief MacArthur even arrogantly stated that he would not mind burning the war across the Yalu River.
Faced with the naked provocation of the United States, the great man relied on his excellent strategic vision and proposed to "hit with one punch to avoid hundreds of punches" , and ordered the volunteer army to enter North Korea to participate in the war.
In the Korean battlefield, the ace 39th Army of the Volunteer Army, in its first battle, encountered the 1st Cavalry Division, which was praised by the United States!
However, in the face of a strong enemy, the officers and soldiers of the 39th Army were not afraid. Like a tiger descending a mountain, pounced on the enemy and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy. The US military also saw the power of the volunteers!
In the next three years, the Volunteer Army not only used unpredictable tactics to make the U.S. military undefeable, but also achieved extremely brilliant victories in Chongcheon River , Seoul, Hengcheng and other places. In defensive operations , the troops also performed well.
Whether it was the artillery fire at Shangganling or the severe cold at Changjin Lake , they could not shake the determination of the Volunteer Army to stick to the position. The Volunteer Army used practical actions to explain to the US military what "People are in the position, and they swear to live and die with the position." "!
Faced with the courageous and resourceful volunteers who are both offensive and defensive, even though the United States is already one of the world's top military powers, it is powerless to withstand .
According to statistics, during the Korean War, the United Nations and South Korean troops killed, wounded, and captured more than one million people, and the resources invested reached astronomical figures. However, the United States not only failed to achieve its goal of occupying all of North Korea in 1950, , was pushed back to the 38th line by the volunteers, and finally had to sign an armistice agreement. It can be said that "stealing chickens will lose rice"!
And this battle has become an extremely shameful episode in the history of the US military!
However, what the US military does not know at this time is that just ten years later, the great eastern country will add another highlight to the humiliating record of the US military!
Vietnam War
And this was the third failed battle of the US military : the Vietnam War
In 1955, in order to curb the southward expansion of Soviet power, the United States decided to support the pro-American regime in Vietnam.
However, because the regime only cared about enriching its own pockets and did not care about the lives of the people, the Vietnamese people decided to take up arms and rise up to resist, the Vietnamese Civil War broke out.
In order to achieve its own goals, the United States began to gradually increase its troops to Vietnam in the mid-1960s. once again interfered in the internal affairs of other countries with force!
However, with the help of the Eastern powers, the Vietnamese army became the most terrifying nightmare for the US military.
During the war, the Vietnamese army gave full play to the advantages of individual combat and used the terrain to engage in guerrilla warfare with the US military. The US mechanized troops almost lost their use and were dragged into the quagmire of the war.
As time goes by, many soldiers suffer from mental breakdown due to excessive pressure, and the anti-war wave in the country is getting higher and higher. The United States has reached the point where everyone has rebelled against their relatives.
In desperation, the US military could only sign an armistice agreement with Vietnam and withdrew from Vietnam in disgrace. The US$250 billion in military expenditures that had been invested were all in vain!
This battle has become a pain that the US military never wants to mention!
The United States and Canada War
In fact, the United States' behavior of invading other countries for its own selfish interests did not only appear in the 20th century. Since the founding of the country, they have always wanted to expand their country's territory. Some political elites even hope to control the entire North America. mainland!
But in the 19th century, they paid an extremely painful price for their greed. Even the symbol of the United States, the White House, was burned to the ground!
This was the fourth failed battle of the United States: the American-Canadian War
In 1812, in order to expand its territory and seize more resources, the United States divided its forces into three groups and launched an attack on the British-controlled Canadian region..
From the perspective of the United States, Canada has a vast territory and abundant resources, and the British army's defense is lax, making victory easy.
But the facts prove that this is just wishful thinking of the Americans, because in order to defend their land and the right to survive, Canadians have taken up arms one after another and plan to fight to the death with the US military!
On the other hand, the selection of commanders of the US military was also very hasty. Dearborn, the commander of the Western Route Army, did not even have experience in commanding troops above the regiment level!
Therefore, when the war began, the tragedy of the US military also began.
The East Route Army and the Middle Route Army were mainly composed of militiamen. Therefore, their morale and combat effectiveness were extremely low. They simply refused to advance after being defeated.
The Western Route Army was even more miserable. Although they once invaded Canada, the British and Indian troops cut off their supply lines, forcing the lonely American army to surrender.
Subsequently, the Indo-Canadian coalition pursued the victory, hitting all the way to Detroit in the United States, forcing the local US military to surrender. , the first stage of the US-Canada war came to an end.
The failure of this attack made the United States feel humiliated. In order to avenge its previous shame, they decided to devote all their efforts to attack Canada in 1813, hitting all the way to Toronto in Canada.
But at this time, the United States ignored a serious problem. They sent almost all the country's elite troops to Canada, leaving the United States almost undefended!
The British army seized the opportunity and sent 4,000 British troops to land on the east coast of the United States. then easily broke through the three lines of defense defended by the militia. occupied Washington, the capital of the United States, with almost no effort.
President of the United States Madison could only escape overnight and did not stop until he reached Virginia .
After that, in retaliation for the American attack, the British army set fire to Washington. All government institutions, including the White House, the symbol of the United States, were burned to the ground. Only ruins were left, and thick black smoke lingered for several days. The whole city has become a hell on earth!
In the end, the United States had to sign an armistice agreement with Britain and swallowed the bitter fruit of failure.
Philippines
The fifth failed battle of the United States was also related to the war of aggression, but this time, they were on the defensive side.
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched an undeclared war and attacked Pearl Harbor in the United States. The U.S.-Japanese War broke out. On the next day, in order to compete for resources, Japan launched an attack on the Philippines where the U.S. military was stationed.
Although the U.S. military fought steadily under the command of the famous general MacArthur, due to insufficient preparation and lack of support, the main force of the U.S. military had to withdraw from the Philippines in disgrace. There were still about 75,000 U.S. and Philippine troops who were unable to retreat and were forced to retreat. Japanese prisoners.
The Japanese army showed no mercy to these prisoners of war, and created the appalling "Bataan Death Rebellion" , which resulted in thousands of prisoners of war dying of hunger, disease or being killed. This battle also became a shame for the US military!
However, except for this battle, the other four losses were all due to the greed and arrogance of the US military. This also fully shows that any country that destroys peace and goes against the trend will eventually pay a heavy price!
Reference materials:
Fu Chengshuang "The Virgin Land Hypothesis and the Fate of North American Indians"
Meng Qinglong "Fire and Ice: The Psychological Impact of the Korean War on the United States"
Wang Shilu "Japan's Rule of Southeast Asia during the Pacific War"
Zhou Shaoqing "1812 -Research on the impact of the 1815 American-Canadian War on the founding of Canada》
