Spring is the time “when kings go off to war.” It’s in the Book! Twice!! (2 Samuel 11:1 and Chronicles 20:1.)
Springtime therefore has seen more than its fair share of military defeats. On April 1, 1865, for example, General George Pickett suffered a defeat far worse than “Pickett’s Charge” at Gettysburg. His troops were cut off and crushed at the Battle of Five Forks, Va. The loss of Pickett’s forces pretty much ended Confederate hopes of defending Richmond. The Confederacy surrendered just eight days later.
America has seen more than a few military setbacks of late. The administration’s latest reversal came this month, when it had to hastily pull our special operations forces from Yemen.
Americans prefer not to dwell on defeats, but they are worth pondering. Sometimes the worst setbacks can be the best teachers. Here, courtesy of Hollywood, are six cinematic accounts of thumping failures that are worth revisiting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRdFn6G-lL4
6. Khartoum (1966)
You think Obama has an Islamist insurgency problem? In 1883, the “Mahdi” leads a revolt that overruns much of the Sudan. The British government dispatches Major General Charles George Gordon (Charlton Heston) to Khartoum. Gordon decides to defend the city. It doesn’t end well for the Brits: the garrison is slaughtered, 4,000 civilians are put to the sword and the general loses his head (literally). Gordon hoped that if he refused to retreat, the British would send reinforcements to crush the Mahdi. They didn’t.
The lesson: Hope is not a strategy.5. Zulu Dawn (1979)
In 1879, the British dispatch a column under Lord Chelmsford (Peter O’Toole) to beat back the Zulu tribes. The Brits are armed to the teeth with the most modern military weapons of the time including rockets, field artillery, and breech-loading rifles. Yet 1,300 of Chelmsford’s 1,800 troops are cut down by spear-carrying warriors.
The lesson: God isn’t always on the side of the biggest or best-equipped battalions. Never underestimate your enemy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0U0Iy9Oy3I
4. Gallipoli (1981)
During World War I, Winston Churchill had an inspired idea: “Let’s outflank the enemy, attack Turkey and seize a key maritime chokepoint—the Dardanelles. How hard can that be?” ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand) troops land on April 25, 1915. They are joined by forces from Britain, France, British India and Newfoundland. Lacking accurate maps or solid intelligence, the invading army has no idea what it is in for. Eight months later, the allies withdraw in abject failure. They have taken 180,000 casualties. The film shows the futile campaign through the eyes of young Australian trooper named Frank Dunne (Mel Gibson).
The lesson: Know your enemy before you pick a fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXWLSRs1Pc
3. Hamburger Hill (1987)
America may have lost the Vietnam War but our troops won most of the battles. One of the bloodiest was the assault of Ap Bia Mountain, aka “Hamburger Hill,” in 1969. In a 10-day fight for the summit, the U.S. troops suffered over 400 casualties. In the film, future television and movie stars, including Dylan McDermott, Steven Weber, and Don Cheadle, are part of a platoon that fights its way to the top. In real life, after the troops took the hill—they abandoned it. Ap Bia Mountain had no strategic value.
The lesson: Even victories can be blunders. Winning wars is about imposing your will on the enemy—that is not always measured in how much territory take or how many enemies you kill.
2. Diên Biên Phu (1992)
In 1954, the French had the bright idea that they could hold on to Vietnam by seizing a base deep in enemy territory, then launching attacks to control the surrounding area. Unfortunately for the French, they seized a base in a valley. The enemy occupied the surrounding high ground. The film provides a docu-drama history of the battle, in part recounted by an American reporter, Howard Simpson (Donald Pleasence), based in Hanoi.
1. They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
It’s 1876. An over-confident, over-zealous George Armstrong Custer (Errol Flynn) leads a punitive expedition along the banks of the Little Bighorn River. They are all wiped out—Custer, two of his brothers, a nephew, a brother-in-law and 261 other soldiers. The movie is horrible military history, but Custer’s reckless, vainglorious leadership made for a horrible military operation, so maybe it was a good fit.
The lesson: Hubris hurts.
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