Worst British military defeat in History

Out of defeat something good comes at times.

Such as Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem " The Charge Of The Light Brigade "

a reply to: alldaylong

I'll go along with that. One of the first poems I ever had to memorize--never did get it all. Great poem by a great poet.

a reply to: SprocketUK

Yes sir. Who knows for sure?

It is one view of it.

originally posted by: crazyewok

originally posted by: nwtrucker

originall in an empire that can be measured against any as oppressive, murderous and self-absorbed.

Hardly

For its time the British empure was rather benign in comparison to the spanish, Portuguese and french empires.

But unlike you yanks we accept we need wrong things.

originally posted by: nwtrucker
Especially taken in context the criticism towards the U.S. the comes from a number of you.

Dont want to be critized, dont do thing that are stupid.

And the USA has its own list of crimes and genocides, no country is innocent except iceland.

originally posted by: nwtrucker
It is stunning. It explains much.

Whats stunning is your hatred toward the UK.
Guess what the war of 1812 ended....UK and USA are no longer enemies.

Don't do anything stupid? You people took stupidity and made it an art form. Even sucked in the U.S. to continue it for you. The list is long beyond belief and all you do is brag about riches you took elsewhere. A pox on you, sir.

I will tell you about "British Military Defeat". I stood beside a "Brit Officer" as an American NCO., ..Durring "Retreat" of our flags/colors.
. After it was over? I swore to him..These two "colors" will "never fall"! It was a "handshake" deal. This Brit LT. Told me, "I got your back, Yank! It was beautiful to me!

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: SprocketUK

Yes sir. Who knows for sure?

It is one view of it.

I doubt even he knew why. A lot of his actions put me in mind of the way women act at roughly monthly intervals...

a reply to: [post=22394778]nwtrucker[/post

You people took stupidity and made it an art form

Yes we are stupid.

We only managed to conquer one third of The Earths land mass. We should have had far more.

Well for a tiny island only 800 miles long and 300 miles at it's widest point i suppose it's not that bad.

a reply to: alldaylong

Good thing for the rest of us you were.

There's a reason that it was called the Victorian Age. C'mon, people, at one point for quite a while, the sun never set upon the British Empire.

They were many things, among which were hella soldiers and sailors.

There's no "real" American that forgot our "British" cousins. We didn't fight Germany or Spain for this land, but we fought them Brits! ... And we didn't really want a war. But that was the "political" cards dealt. We gambled and "apparently" won? I'm of Irish blood! My people weren't exactly the English/British, "favorites". Fact, they tried to starve us to death! But we've never held a grudge..we've "served", and served well! We've served the British Crown, The Union North and Confederate South. Like any other people. Even "Blacks" sold "Blacks" into "slavery"... They don't put that in the "history books"! Britain has never been "defeated". The only "military" that could ever do it, was/is America's and we've never wanted to do that! We have kicked their ass twice, and saved it twice!.. I love them! They're like Canooks to me, or Quebecians... Wouldn't want to kill them, just hurt them enough for a family "understanding",.. out of love!

a reply to: caf1550

Armament superiority will never overcome 10-1 superiority of forces unless you are willing to lay waste with destructive forces like those used in japan in WWII.

If you are dealing with an insurgency, armaments will never overcome that type of superiority of force if the opposition is willing to die for the cause.

jaden

originally posted by: alldaylong
Ease up there.

I wouldn't call European cities being bombed day and night with huge civilian casualties as being " Tame "

The U.S. mainland i would say had it " Tame " as not a single town or city had to endure that nightmare.

The bulk of civilian deaths from 'crimes against humanity'* for the Allies took place in the Pacific theater. And I frankly don't give two craps about the Axis, they started it, they deal with the ramifications.

*minus Stalin murdering his own people.

a reply to: seagull
The sun had never set, until "America", Lexington/Concord? That is historical fact! Another "historical" fact? America never forgot you! We kicked your ass twice! We're proud of you! You made us what we are! And,.. We've been there! Every time for you! We always will be! May God bless the "Crown"! And his/her "commonwealth's"! As for me? I'm an American!

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
You're right! "Tame" is very heartless. I'd have called it "needed doing"! They "the civilians" should've "armed themselves".. And did, what needed doing, before we had to "bomb their A**es! .. I'm not sure how the simplicity, escapes you. But, apparently it does...

originally posted by: murphy22
.. I'm not sure how the simplicity, escapes you. But, apparently it does...

The simplicity of what? How about in English now?

a reply to: murphy22

Have you missed the fact that after Lexington/Concord the British Empire grew? Obviously it does.

...and I'm not British, sunshine.

As for kicking the British collective butts? During the Revolution, the French helped a lot, without them--who knows what happens, not to mention the little tiny fact that they were fighting in Europe. Fact!!

War of 1812? A little fella by the name of Napoleon had their attention in Europe. Again, fact!!

Yes, there was skill, but there was a lot of luck involved as well, please stop pretending otherwise. If you aren't pretending, maybe you need to look into it a bit deeper.

a reply to: SprocketUK

I think Op Market Garden is one of the most fascinating battles in history. I read about it specifically more often than you'd think...

a reply to: muzzleflash

An old Polish guy used to drink in my granddad's pub when I as little. He taught me German before I was school age and he was part of the Polish paras there. Really nice old guy too. Had some crazy stories about Piat guns and trying to cock them with a tiger rolling up

originally posted by: Asktheanimals

originally posted by: Spider879

originally posted by: Ohanka

originally posted by: Aliensun
a reply to: caf1550

OK. Eighteen-hundred men with rifles, that are bolt-action at the best, against 12,000 to 20,000 warriors that can run and fight like the wind with spears that don't need a belt box full of limited bullets with which to kill the vastly outnumbered enemy. Other than a failure on the truly intelligence part of the British command structure, what is the point of this history lesson?

The Commander was an idiot, and the battle was conducted extremely poorly. Men weren't given bullets despite an abundance of them, orders were confused and often contradictory leading to confusion among the ranks.

Look up Rorke's Drift. Immediately after Isandlwana. Arguably one of the greatest moments in British military history following from one of the worst.

The Zulus had guns that time around.

Perhaps the man who saved the Brits from being driven into the sea.
True but idiocy and over confidence cuts both ways..

While the Undi Corps had been led by inkhosi kaMapitha at the Isandlwana battle, the command of the Undi Corps passed to Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande (half-brother of Cetshwayo kaMpande, the Zulu king) when kaMapitha was wounded mopping up British fugitives from Isandlwana. Prince Dabulamanzi was considered rash and aggressive and this characterization was borne out by his violation of King Cetshwayo's order to act only in defence of Zululand against the invading British soldiers and not carry the war over the border into enemy territory. The Rorke's Drift attack was an unplanned raid rather than any organized counter-invasion, with many of the Undi Corps Zulus breaking off to raid other African kraals and homesteads while the main body advanced on Rorke's Drift.
en.wikipedia.org...'s_Drift

It was Zulu king Cetshwayo who ordered his impis to not cross the border in to Natal hoping still to make peace with the British. Many Zulu wanted to pursue the retreating British in to Natal and there was nothing to prevent them from taking it all had Cetshwayo been bolder and more aggressive. His brother Prince Dabulamanzi KaMpande was simply following the King's orders.

It may have seemed like a good idea, but a good idea not planned for become costly which it did, had they from the out set said ok, we take them out at Isandlwana, while another corp moved on to the next location and so on, things might have been different, but this is where the famous discipline of the Zulus broke down drunk on their victory, a thing that would never had occurred under Shaka decades earlier.

originally posted by: murphy22
We have kicked their ass twice

Twice? When was the secound? And dont say war of 1812 because in no way was that a American victory. You started that war and did not accomplish your goal of conquering canada. That is not a victory let alone a arse kicking, especially when all we had in canada was a understrength garrsion to repal you!

originally posted by: murphy22, and saved it twice!

That old chestnut.


You certainly did not save us in WW1.
The UK mainland was never under threat and by the time the USA got involved Germany defeat was garenteed due to the navel blockade the UK but up.
Germany lost the war end of 1916, they just refused to accept that fact, there economy would not have lasted past 1919. All the USA did was speed up the german demise.


WW2?
Britain crushed the German Airforce between 1940 and 1941 long before the USA got involved.
It was impossible to cross the Channel with the UK holding the skys and seas.
We needed the USA help liberate the rest of Europe but as for the UK? After 1941 we where safe, worst that would of happend was a negotiated peace treaty with the UK going neutral which hitler wanted anyway as he never wanted a fight with the UK in the first place.

originally posted by: ElGoobero
perhaps the Dutch sailing up the Thames and burning London.

Oh dear, did we? No wonder they charge me those high prices when I'm in a London hotel..