The most curious failure of the American army (13 photos). Operation "Eagle Claw" the failure of American intelligence services

Mankind has never had a military as defensive, smart and strong, with the same command and resources as the US military today. These words of US State Department spokesman John Kirby, thrown in the face of the whole world in response to Vladimir Putin's statement that the Russian army today is stronger than any potential aggressor, amused many. However, God forbid someone took what was said seriously. In order to clarify this issue completely, we bring to your attention an overview of only the brightest and loudest "epic fails" of the American army.

Crazy Horse Strike

The first, perhaps, truly shameful defeat regular army The United States was struck on June 25, 1876. And by whom? Those whom the pale-faced Yankees did not even consider to be people, calling them "bloodthirsty savages." This, of course, is about the native inhabitants of America - the Indians.

Well, savages or not savages, but, nevertheless, in the battle that took place at the Little Big Horn, their losses amounted to 50 people killed and 160 wounded. The American soldiers were utterly decimated. More than 250 people were killed, of which 13 were officers. Far from a heroic death, all the commanders who led the dashing cavalry attack on the Indian camp fell - Major Marcus Renault, Captain Frederick Bentin, and George Armstrong Custer, who led the operation. By the way, he is far from being a "green" newcomer - he ended the Civil War in the United States with the rank of general, and later was reinstated in the US Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel. On its own head ... In general, out of all the “invading forces”, by some miracle, a peaceful convoy cattle (either a horse, or, according to some sources, a mule) survived by some miracle, nicknamed “Comanche”. The poor animal was then driven through the parades until it threw back its hooves and rested in the form of a stuffed animal in the Kansas Museum of History.

For a long time cause so terrible disaster it was considered a banal numerical superiority of the "savages" over the brave guys in dragoon uniforms. However, subsequent archaeological research showed that the situation was even worse. Shell casings from the Henry and Winchester carbines were massively found at the battle site. But Custer's soldiers simply didn't have that! At that time, the US Army was armed with single-shot "Springfield" and "Sharps". Lead with an unprecedented speed at that time - 25 shots per minute, they were watered just by the Indians!

The answer to the riddle is extremely simple and lies in American psychology. Brisk merchants for whom every extra dollar earned was and remains much more expensive human lives(including their own compatriots), heartily supplied the "bloodthirsty savages" with the most rapid-fire and modern weapons. The result is obvious. Fighting an enemy equal to or superior in arms is not for the US Army ... Here, burning Indian settlements, destroying hundreds of everyone there, right down to the very old people and infants - her soldiers did it wonderfully.

Norman beaches, "Omaha" and "Utah" - stages of the "long journey"

About the "heroic landing" allied forces in 1944 in Normandy, which marked the opening of the Second Front in World War II, an immense amount of works were written and filmed. "Saving Private Ryan" and other blah blah blah. That's just the truth in them ... How to put it more diplomatically ... Not enough.

Those who try to present her as almost main battle that war, either he simply does not know what he is talking about, or he deliberately and shamelessly sins against the truth. There was no battle!

Let's start with the fact that the formidable "Atlantic Wall", in the form in which many people imagine it today, existed only in the ambitious plans of the top of the Third Reich. And also - in modern films and computer "shooters". In reality, its fortifications by the time of the landing were barely 50% built, armed with all sorts of rusty rubbish (sometimes with guns from the First World War!), Or captured cannons, for which there were catastrophically lacking shells. To match was the "personnel" - something between a disabled team and a penal battalion. The Germans who served in Normandy were either "mighty warriors" with flat feet, strabismus and stomach ulcers, or 40-50 year old "non-combatants" fit only to guard the wagon trains. And more than half of the "defenders" consisted of scum collected from all over Europe and beyond. There were even "Vlasovites"! And also - the 162nd infantry division, entirely formed from the so-called "eastern legionnaires" (Turkmen, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, etc.).

It would seem that what is needed for the American army. A weak, demoralized, practically incompetent enemy, armed at random and with whatever. Come and get it! It wasn't there...

The artillery preparation, which lasted half an hour, went ... nowhere! NONE of the 15,000 shells fired at the Germans by the guns of two battleships, three cruisers, and six destroyers (this is not counting the field artillery pounding with might and main from the landing barges!), real goals not hit! It is not enough that not a single bunker was destroyed - it was not possible to fill up a lousy trench.

The valiant American aces distinguished themselves even more abruptly. The several hundred thousand tons of bombs they dumped from the Liberators were not like the German fortifications - they did not hit the beach! Poured, idiots, FIVE kilometers from the coast ...

The landing went no better - out of 32 amphibious tanks (DD Sherman), 27 managed to drown while trying to launch! Of the 16 armored bulldozers to destroy the fortifications, only three reached the shore. The commanders of some landing barges, having put on full pants in fear of German artillery, refused to take risks and began landing paratroopers at depths of two or more meters! Brave American guys went to the bottom no worse than the notorious axes. And then ... Then began what I call "the triumph of fighting spirit American army." In his best.

Of the three bulldozers, the sappers were able to use two. “Marines” hid en masse behind another one, threatening to shoot anyone who tries to deprive them of this shelter. Little of. These same clowns drove their own sappers away ... from concrete gouges that needed to be blown up so that tanks could get involved. And where to hide? It is not surprising that in the end, sappers died in dozens ...

But the most admirable example of heroism came from the US Army paratroopers. A few hours before the start of the operation, they tried to throw them deep into German positions- to capture bunkers and other key defense nodes. For some reason, I am not at all surprised by the fact that three dozen paratroopers were dumped (by mistake) straight onto the W-5 bunker. Those who were lucky enough to stay alive after a close acquaintance with German invalids safely surrendered. So - exactly at four in the morning, these crap fighters of the "US Army elite" collectively fell at the feet of the Fritz, demanding to send them away from the front line at a run! And to the surprised question of the Herr officer: “Why would that be?” with all possible frankness they told that in exactly one hour the artillery preparation and landing would begin ... No one beat them, did not torture them. The Germans, one must think from this themselves ofigeli. Oh glorious American army!

Nazi Germany, of course, was defeated. It is a fact. However, taking into account what has been said above, I personally cannot consider the entry of the Americans into that war as something other than a shame. Berlin was taken by our grandfathers! Let's always remember this.

"I'm walking on scorched earth..."

Many people of my generation, and a little older, remember the song from which the lines are taken. O Vietnam War. This conflict, without exaggeration, has become not just a disgrace for the US Army, but a worldwide disgrace. And in all respects - in the military, political, economic and others.

Well, judge for yourself - when a country with the strongest economy in the world, a multi-million population, an ocean fleet and jet aircraft invades a tiny state torn apart by a civil war, bombards it for EIGHT years, floods it with napalm and defoliants, and then runs with its tail between its legs and throwing " allies”… What is this?

And the losses of the American army in almost sixty thousand - only those killed? Nine thousand shot down there American aircraft, a thousand pilots who were captured by the partisans? Equipped with the most modern weapons, the “smart and strong” US army was beaten by partisans who started the war with rifles from the Second World War and PPSh. She was shamefully expelled with all her "command and resources."

But this is only the military part of the defeat. It was in Vietnam that the American army showed itself in all its "glory" - with its "scorched earth" tactics, the destruction of the ecosystem of the whole country, massacres civilians and atrocities comparable only to what the Nazi thugs did in their time.

Someone calculated that during the war, American aircraft dropped more than 100 kilograms of bombs for every inhabitant of Vietnam, both North and South. According to the US Department of Defense, from 1962 to 1971, the Americans sprayed 77 million liters of Agent Orange defoliant into South Vietnam, including 44 million liters containing dioxin. More than 14% of the territory of Vietnam was flooded with this super-toxic abomination. Chemical weapon affected 60% of the jungle and more than 30% of the lowland forests. Only during 1969, in South Vietnam Americans poisoned more than 285,000 people with gases, destroyed more than 905,000 hectares of crops with pesticides. And still - they lost this war!

We will continue talking about the Vietnam War, as well as a story about other, even more shameful episodes in the history of the American army, in the second part of the publication.

From Vietnam to Kiska

In what, in what gentlemen from the USA can give a hundred points ahead to anyone - it is in the ability to wishful thinking. Here they are equal except perhaps their own diligent students from some ... underdeveloped countries. Before declaring the US Army the most “defensive, smart and strong” in almost the entire history of mankind, Mr. John Kirby would do well to recall history to the whole world. Own. Well... can we help?

Ash Songmy

We ended the first part of our conversation with a story about how the US Army, in eight years, was unable to cope with tiny, in comparison, Vietnam. At the same time, it must be remembered that by military losses alone, the shame of America in this case not limited.

In 1967, the so-called "Russell Tribunal for Investigating War Crimes Committed in Vietnam" was created. This International Tribunal held two of its meetings - in Stockholm and in Copenhagen, and after the first they issued a verdict, which, in particular, said:

“... The United States is responsible for the use of force and, as a result, for the crime of aggression, for the crime against peace. The United States violated the established provisions of international law, enshrined in Paris Pact and in the UN Charter, as well as the establishment of the 1954 Geneva Accords on Vietnam. US actions fall under Article: Nuremberg Tribunal and are subject to the jurisdiction of international law.
The United States has violated the fundamental rights of the people of Vietnam. South Korea, Australia and New Zealand became complicit in this crime…”

“... The Tribunal finds that the United States, which carried out the bombing of civilian targets and the civilian population, is guilty of war crimes. The actions of the United States in Vietnam must be qualified as a whole as a crime against humanity (according to Article 6 of the Nuremberg Statute) and cannot be regarded as mere consequences of a war of aggression ... "

On March 16, 1968, the US Army stood forever on a par, not even with the Nazi Wehrmacht, but with the most vile units Nazi Germany, like Einsatzkommandos or other punishers, whom the Germans themselves abhorred. From now on, along with the Belarusian Khatyn, the Polish Lidice and other places of the most terrible fascist crimes in history, the Vietnamese village of Song My in the province of Quang Ngai is mentioned. More than 500 inhabitants were killed there by American soldiers. And - with special cruelty. The village was literally wiped off the face of the earth - burned down with the people to the last house and barn.

About bastards from purely punitive teams such as “scouts” from Tiger Force, the 101st Airborne Division (oh, those brave American paratroopers ...), who specialized in reprisals against prisoners and civilians, and in addition, they hung themselves with scalps and necklaces from the cut off ears of the Vietnamese are also known to the whole world. As you wish, but in my opinion, SUCH shame is not washed off in any way and never - neither from the uniform, nor from the banner, nor from the soldier's honor.

In the end, I can not resist considering another topic that has already become commonplace. At one time it became very fashionable (especially in some circles that love "liberal values") to equate the Vietnam War with the participation of the USSR in afghan war. It seems like - the same thing ... Well, let's compare. In the previous part, I already gave the figures for the losses of the US Army for eight years of Vietnam. Let me remind you very briefly - the loss of the killed only the US Army - 58 s more than a thousand human. Downed aircraft - about 9000. Missing - more than 2000 people. About a thousand American soldiers were taken prisoner. Mostly pilots.

During the ten years of the conflict in Afghanistan, the USSR lost about 14 and a half thousand people (irretrievable combat losses), 118 aircraft and 333 helicopters. You can compare further, but, in my opinion, this is enough. The idiotic conjectures of liberal "historians" that " Afghan losses underestimated many times”, based solely on the thesis: “something they counted a little”, I’m not going to consider. With this - to Mr. Kirby. In one room...

Oh yes! Even in the USSR there were not those 27,000 deserters and war evaders who crawled out in the United States like cockroaches from all cracks when President Ford announced an amnesty for them in 1974. Feel the difference, as they say.

How the "Black Hawk" over the "Black Sea" screwed up

The first US Army personnel to receive the highest military award, the Medal of Honor, after the Vietnam War were Sergeant First Class Randall Shugart and Master Sergeant Harry Gordon. By the way, posthumously ... I wonder - for what merits?

The civil war that began in Somalia in the 1980s continues to this day. In the early 90s, out of a peculiar habit of “bringing democracy” to the whole world, no matter how he kicks, the Americans initiated the introduction of “UN multinational forces” into the country Under their own command, of course. The operation received, as always, the utterly pretentious name "Revival of Hope."

However, "American hope" was not shared by all Somalis. One of the field commanders, Muhammad Farah Aidid, completely considered the presence of foreign soldiers as interference in the internal affairs of the country. What a savage ... Of course, the Americans tried to deal with him in usual manner- with numerous casualties among the civilian population and without any harm to Aidid personally.

The ensuing confrontation led to the fact that in 1993 in Somalia, a whole tactical group "Ranger" - Task Force Ranger, came directly to the soul of Aidid. It included one company of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, a Delta squadron, and helicopters from the 160th aviation regiment special operations"Night hunters". Special forces - special forces nowhere! Elite to all elites. Well, this elite turned around on the move ...

The first operation to capture the "inconvenient" field commander was carried out "brilliantly" - the booty of the special forces was ... the official representative of the UN Development Program, three senior employees of UNOSOM II and an elderly Egyptian woman, a representative of one of the humanitarian organizations. Whoops…

However, as it turned out in that raid, the idiots were only warming up - the Americans themselves assessed all further operations as "not very successful." During one of them, the heroic "Delta" with a roar, shooting and all the required special effects heroically stormed the house of an entire Somali general, effectively putting him and, in addition, another 40 members of the Abgal clan "face to the ground". True, it later turned out that just this general is in Somalia best friend United Nations, the United States, and actually put forward as a candidate for the post of the country's new chief of police. Mdya ... With allies like the Americans, it’s as if enemies are not needed ...

The bodyaga with attempts to capture Aidid himself, or at least someone from his inner circle, dragged on for a long time, tediously and unsuccessfully. Without a doubt, the role played by the fact that "steering" the process American general Howe perceived him as another "dirty native", while Aidid had a decent military education obtained, including in the USSR. Well, the smartest army, no questions...

And finally, the long-awaited day "X" has come! According to intelligence data, on October 3, 1993, in the region of the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, which was called the "Black Sea", Omar Salad, Aidid's adviser, and Abdi Gasan Aval, nicknamed Kebdid, the Minister of Internal Affairs in Aidid's "shadow government", were to meet. Aidid himself was allowed to appear. The Yankees could not miss such an opportunity! A real armada was prepared for the capture - twenty units of aircraft, twelve cars and about one hundred and sixty people personnel. Armored Hummers, trucks full of Rangers, and, of course, Black Hawks. Where would we be without them...

By the way, the first such helicopter was shot down by the Somalis on September 25 - with the help of the most ordinary Soviet RPG-7. Pompous fool…sorry, Commander-in-Chief General Garrison considered this incident nothing more than an accident. "Coincidence, you say? Well, well ... ”- said the partisans of Aidid. And then they stocked up more RPGs.

The beginning of the operation was marked by events ... let's say, in a purely American style. In general, she almost broke down because the agent, who was supposed to stop the car near the house where potential targets would gather, and thus give a signal to capture, left his car in a completely different point with a fright. The entire armada mentioned above almost rushed to storm empty space. Understood. The agent was either reprimanded or intimidated, and, having once again circled the block, he stopped at the right place. And away we go!

We will not (out of pity) focus on such moments of the operation as the "elite ranger" who blurted out when landing from a helicopter from a twenty-meter height. Or on a desperate assault by two four commandos of an impregnable fortress, which turned out to be ... a store stationery. Well, it happens... One way or another, two of Aidid's close associates and two dozen more people with them were captured by the Americans, and an evacuation convoy moved to the Black Sea area to extract them. And this is where the jokes ended. The bloody hell has begun.

The "Black Sea" exploded with fire and lead. At the very least, miserable scraps of a column that took away an almost self-murdered commando managed to get to the base. In that part of the column that remained for the removal of prisoners at the very beginning of the battle, the Hammer and one of the trucks were burned from the RPG. And then the Black Hawks began to fall from the sky. The first of them with the proud call sign "Super-61" was shot down in five minutes. From all the same RPG, of course. The next grenade flew to the hawk, which landed the search and rescue group. Its pilots were very lucky - they somehow managed to reach the base.

"Black hawk" with the call sign "Super-64" was less fortunate. It didn't go down at all, to be honest. After receiving an RPG shot in the tail section, he crashed two miles from the 61st. Snipers were brought in to protect his Super 62 crew. The ones I mentioned at the very beginning. In the end, only one of the pilots of the 64th managed to survive, and even then, only because he was captured for a subsequent exchange. And ... Yes - "Super-62" caught his grenade, but blurted out to the ground already near the airfield itself.

All this time, the column that had originally arrived to evacuate the rangers and prisoners under the command of Colonel McKnight ... circled the streets of Mogadishu! For which she was subsequently awarded the "honorary" title - "The Lost Convoy". At first, the command demanded that the colonel provide assistance to the downed helicopter pilots, then, realizing that help would be here, like milk from a famous animal, they demanded to immediately go to the base - in order to at least deliver the prisoners to their destination! The drivers of the convoy, meanwhile, with admirable tenacity ... turned into the wrong streets, missing the right turns and forks. In the middle of the day! As they themselves later wrote in their reports, “because of the enemy’s heavy fire.” Well, the smartest - you haven't forgotten?!

Another convoy sent to rescue the rangers who were dying one after another in the meantime got stuck literally in the first hundreds of meters of movement. Two Hammers were blazing with cheerful fires, and the brave mountain shooters and rangers, instead of helping out their comrades, feverishly fired in all directions (later it was calculated - in the course of the battle they shot 60,000 pieces of ammunition!). As a result, the fathers-commanders again spat and ordered the "rescuers" to return to the base.

By nine o'clock in the evening it became completely clear that there was no way to cope with the "most-most army in the world" on its own. The Americans rushed headlong to ask for help from their colleagues in the peacekeeping contingent. As a result, the “elite of the US army” was saved by Pakistani and Malaysian “armor”! Pulled out, so to speak, their asses - as the Americans themselves love in similar cases talk.

The column, which included four Pakistani tanks, twenty-four Malaysian armored personnel carriers and about three dozen more vehicles, supported from the air by a whole flock of helicopters, managed to break through barricades and heavy fire to the site of the tragedy. By morning, the evacuation (during which part of the rescued had to follow the “armor” of the foot thug for a whole mile) was successfully completed

The result of the battle was the death of 18 elite fighters of the US Army, the capture of one of them and injuries of varying severity - about eighty. The Somalis lost, according to various estimates, from 300 to 800 people. True, the US ambassador to Somalia subsequently wove something about two thousand dead, but this, I'm sure, is a calculation of the results of passing the famous computer toy "Delta Force: "Black Hawk" Down." On the easy level...

But even if we assume that this figure is at least somewhat close to the truth, then the result is not the most shameful, but the most shameful! Do not forget that dozens of “turntables” poured fire on the Somalis from airborne weapons - only helicopters covering the last evacuation column shot 80 thousand rounds of ammunition and 100 rockets around the city! The "unsurpassed elite" of the US Army, the magnificent superspecial forces, from the very sight of which, theoretically, they should have scattered " bad guys"Within a radius of at least hundreds of miles, rebels armed by no means the newest Kalashnikovs and, at a maximum, RPGs, opposed. According to some reports, almost half of them were women and children.

In Somalia, October 3 is called "Ranger's Day" and is still almost national holiday. In the United States, these events were dubbed “the second Pearl Harbor. A humiliating "truce" had to be concluded with Aidid. The US Secretary of Defense was dismissed, and the “strongest army” left Somalia after these events literally for next year. The rest of the UN troops soon followed. Since then, none of the “peacekeepers” dares to meddle in this territory anymore.

Operation Cottage. Full pussy...

In this part of the story, I willy-nilly have to break the chronological principle, which I adhered to earlier. It’s just that the episode, which will be discussed below, is not only unambiguously the most shameful page in the history of the US Army, but may well be recognized as perhaps the greatest military disgrace of all times and peoples.

For what the hell the Japanese ran into the Aleutian Islands in 1942, no one has established for sure. Some military historians have said that from there imperial army prepared to take Alaska. Or - to build air bases for bombing the United States. However, this explanation seems doubtful. Yes, that's not the point.

In 1943, the Americans, who had bombarded the islands with many tons of bombs for a year, finally mustered up the courage to retake them. In May, they landed on the island of Attu, and for three weeks it turned into the arena of the bloodiest battle. For all that japanese army was a military adversary of the USSR, I can not refrain from words of admiration addressed to her. The Japanese fought like heroes, like real samurai - Warriors who put honor above life. Left without cartridges and grenades, they met the Americans with bayonets, swords and knives. More than half a thousand American soldiers and officers found their death on Attu, more than a thousand the US Army lost wounded. Well non-combat losses- twice as much...

One way or another, the brave American guys approached the tiny island of Kiska already ... with pretty soaked uniform trousers. More than a hundred warships were thrown to take it, with 29 thousand American and five Canadian paratroopers on board. They, as the command of "the smartest in the world" considered, should have been enough to break the eight thousandth Japanese garrison.

On August 15, the Americans fired on the island EIGHT times, rained down on it 135 tons of bombs and mountains of leaflets calling for surrender. The Japanese did not even think about giving up. “Again, they gathered to cut themselves with katanas, bastards!” - realized the American command, and landed troops. 270 American Marines set foot on the land of Kiska, and after them - a little to the north, and the Canadian landing group.

In two days, the brave paratroopers managed to advance 5-7 kilometers inland. Apparently, they spent most of their time turning over stones and interrogating crabs that came to hand - in search of an answer to the question: “Where did the cunning samurai go ?!” And only on August 17 they finally got a chance to prove themselves in all their glory.

On two land mines, when examining a COMPLETELY EMPTY Japanese bunker, 34 American marines managed to blow themselves up. Two - to death ... Obviously, some of them were not taught in time the golden rule of the sapper: “Do not stretch out your hands, otherwise you will stretch out your legs!” The Canadians who heard such a powerful cannonade did not blunder, and-and-and-and ... How they fried it in the place where it was heard from! Yes, from all trunks! The Americans, who were very offended by such a turn, did not remain in debt - the queues of the Tommy Guns mowed down five Canadians like grass. And at this moment...

At that moment, Admiral Kicknade, who was in charge of all this mess, remembered that he was in charge of something. And he also decided to play war games. “Come on, brother gunners, give me a spark from everything on board!” - obviously, his appeal to the crew of the destroyer "Abner Rean" sounded something like this. Well, they are happy to try ... Naval artillery shells fell on the bad heads of the Marines, who had barely begun to "resolve" the situation. Beats, as it is not surprising, "in the bull's-eye." "Friendly fire" cost the lives of seven more Americans and three Canadians. Plus - fifty wounded.

The next day, we managed (finally!) to establish normal connection and the admiral was informed: “There are NO Japanese on the island! Nancy! Raccoon! Your Mother!" Well, it probably sounded something like that... After wiping the sweat that must have flowed from under his snow-white cap, Kicknade decided to back off. In direct and figuratively- gave the command "Abner Rean" "to join the main forces of the fleet." However, instead of this, the destroyer, barely moving away from the coast, managed to run into a mine, which he managed to miss in an unimaginable way ... skip a minesweeper darting along the island. 71 sailors were killed, fifty were injured, and five completely disappeared in foggy waters without a trace.

You probably think that this circus of idiots called Operation "Cottage" is over? Yeah, how about it ... The guys were not going to let up and continued in the same spirit with renewed vigor. And even tougher!

Already on August 21 (a WEEK, as everyone knows that there is NOT a single Japanese on the island!) the mortar crew of the Americans, it is not clear from what fright, fired at their own reconnaissance group, returning from the search. From my own, I specify specifically, units! They shot, apparently, very badly, because the scouts who survived under the mines ... cut out the mortars to last man! Well, I just don't have words...

Moreover, in the following days - on August 23 and 24, American and Canadian marines opened fire on each other more than once or twice in the process of inspecting Japanese fortifications. In general, the Americans and Canadians lost more than 100 people killed during the assault on a COMPLETELY DESERTED ISLAND. A few hundred more - wounded, frostbitten and sick. No comment…

“But what about the Japanese?!” - you ask. Oh, yes ... The Japanese calmly left the island a couple of weeks before the assault, not wanting to ruin people and resources in a completely useless battle. And rightly so - the "smartest army in the world" did just fine without them.

It only remains to add that after analyzing the operation to storm Kyska, it becomes extremely clear where the legs of the recent tragedy in Ukraine come from. With the interaction of the police. Ukrainian "special forces" were trained by American instructors...

That, in fact, is all about the US Army. Well, except for a couple of strokes. The US Army is the only one on the planet that has used nuclear weapons. And - not against enemy units and formations, but against completely peaceful cities.

In the US Army ... well, it somehow happened ... there never were Matrosovs, Gastello, Talalikhins. But there were brave paratroopers who crawled on their knees in front of the Fritz in Normandy, and "surrendered" on their own initiative the timing of the offensive, or burned the children of Song My in Vietnam. There was NOTHING SIMILAR in either the Soviet or the Russian army. Never.

Now, that's all for sure. Big hello to Mr. John Kirby!

The American publication analyzed five unsuccessful US military operations that had Negative influence on the strategic position of the entire state. The journalist of the military-political American publication National Interest Robert Farley has collected a kind of top of the most failed military operations of the United States of America. In his article, he focused on the strangest operational and strategic decisions of the American command, which could lead to ill-conceived conflicts. Invasion of Canada In 1812, the American continent broke out armed conflict between the US and the UK, using Upper and Lower Canada as their foothold. During the first campaign, the unpreparedness of the Americans for war was manifested. The US command was counting on quick win hoping for support local population. But the Americans overestimated their capabilities, which nearly cost the newfound state independence. Unprepared American troops decided to engage in battle with a professional army. However, the initial enthusiasm vanished in an instant after several combat clashes. In 1812, attempts by the American detachments of Ghoul and Wedsworth to invade Canada ended in failure. The attempts of an American detachment under the command of Stephen van Rensselaer to gain a foothold on the Canadian side of the Niagara River ended in the defeat of the Americans in the Battle of Queenston Heights. A real disaster erupted in Detroit, where famous commander William Hull was forced to surrender the strategic fort despite being outnumbered. Having broken through the defenses, the British were able to get to the Canadian-American border. As you know, American troops, nevertheless, were able to win several significant battles at the end of the war, however, it was the surrender of Fort Detroit that allowed Great Britain to maintain its position on the continent. In the 1980s, during the American Civil War, Confederate commander Robert Edward Lee decided to take advantage of the slowness and uncertainty of the federal commander in chief McClellan, dividing his army to strike from several sides at once. However, by pure chance, two Federation soldiers (Corporal Barton Mitchell and Sergeant John Bloss) found a lost copy of Special Order 191, which detailed General Lee's entire plan. General McClellan saw this as an opportunity to destroy the Confederate army piecemeal and ordered an immediate offensive. As a result of the battle of Antietam, where the Union troops went to intercept, 22,000 people died, making it the bloodiest day in the history of the civil war. Despite superior numbers of units and knowledge of Lee's disposition, McClellan was unable to wipe out the Confederates, declaring a Union victory. Strategically, it was true - having lost 30% of its composition, the Northern Virginia army could no longer continue the Maryland campaign. However, tactically the battle ended in a draw.Operation DrumbeatIn 1942, when Germany, thanks to its submarines, actually controlled the entire Atlantic, the United States decided to organize the supply of weapons to Europe. German submarines took advantage of the unpreparedness of the US Air Force and Navy for underwater defense, so almost every ship sent was sunk. As the commander-in-chief recalled navy Nazi Germany Karl Dönitz, each submarine commander "had such an abundance of opportunities for attack that sometimes the crews had to ignore the ships." Despite this, the American command decided to refuse escort, fearing a backlash from businessmen. This decision turned out to be a disaster for the United States: in just a few months, almost 50 ships sank. The British, worried about the hegemony of the Germans on the water, developed an anti-submarine defense doctrine for the States, thanks to which the Americans finally organized a convoy for their ships. Korean War deep into the peninsula. The command planned to overthrow the Pyongyang regime in order to control the entire Asian region. The PRC leadership publicly stated that China would enter the war if any non-Korean military forces crossed the 38th parallel. However, Truman did not believe in the possibility of large-scale Chinese intervention, for which he later paid the price. In November 1950, Chinese troops, supported by North Korean forces, stopped the American offensive. At the same time, the counterattack of the People's Liberation Army was so crushing that the United States of America risked losing all its units in the region. The war cost the lives of 33,742 American soldiers, another 92,134 were wounded and 80,000 were captured or missing. The disbandment of the army in Iraq the armed forces of the country. As a result, 400,000 Iraqi soldiers were retired. Many experts still call this decision the most idiotic in the history of military operations in the Middle East. The dissolution of the army led to the fact that thousands of servicemen armed with service weapons, in fact, became the fighting force of terrorist groups. And the educated self-defense forces of a free Iraq failed to destroy ISIS 1, which made the army a laughingstock in the region. The United States created its own enemy. American military failures undoubtedly had an impact on the strategic position of the country. Sometimes completely unpredictable decisions of the command cost the lives of thousands of soldiers. Although, given the fact that war is the best business, it is quite possible that these were deliberate operations. The material was prepared by Petr Arkhipov

1 The organization is prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.

From Vietnam to Kiska

In what, in what gentlemen from the USA can give a hundred points ahead to anyone - it is in the ability to wishful thinking. Here they are only equal to their diligent students from some ... underdeveloped countries. Before declaring the US Army the most “defensive, smart and strong” in almost the entire history of mankind, Mr. John Kirby would do well to recall history to the whole world. Own. Well... can we help?

Ash Songmy

We ended the first part of our conversation with a story about how the US Army, in eight years, was unable to cope with tiny, in comparison, Vietnam. At the same time, it must be remembered that the disgrace of America in this case was not limited to military losses alone.

“... The United States is responsible for the use of force and, as a result, for the crime of aggression, for the crime against peace. The United States violated the established provisions of international law enshrined in the Paris Pact and the UN Charter, as well as the establishment of the 1954 Geneva Accords on Vietnam. US actions fall under Article: Nuremberg Tribunal and are subject to the jurisdiction of international law.

The United States has violated the fundamental rights of the people of Vietnam. South Korea, Australia and New Zealand became complicit in this crime…”

On March 16, 1968, the US Army stood forever on a par not even with the Nazi Wehrmacht, but with the most vile units of Nazi Germany, like the Einsatzkommandos or other punishers that the Germans themselves abhorred. From now on, along with the Belarusian Khatyn, the Polish Lidice and other places of the most terrible fascist crimes in history, the Vietnamese village of Song My in the province of Quang Ngai is mentioned. More than 500 inhabitants were killed there by American soldiers. And - with special cruelty. The village was literally wiped off the face of the earth - burned down with the people to the last house and barn.

In the end, I can not resist considering another topic that has already become commonplace. At one time, it became very fashionable (especially in some circles that love “liberal values”) to equate the war in Vietnam with the participation of the USSR in the Afghan war. It seems like - the same thing ... Well, let's compare. In the previous part, I already gave the figures for the losses of the US Army for eight years of Vietnam. Let me remind you very briefly - the loss of those killed only by the US Army - more than 58 thousand people. Downed aircraft - about 9000. Missing - more than 2000 people. About a thousand American soldiers were taken prisoner. Mostly pilots.

During the ten years of the conflict in Afghanistan, the USSR lost about 14 and a half thousand people (irretrievable combat losses), 118 aircraft and 333 helicopters. You can compare further, but, in my opinion, this is enough. I am not going to consider the idiotic conjectures of liberal "historians" that "Afghan losses are underestimated at times", based solely on the thesis: "they counted something little", I am not going to consider. With this - to Mr. Kirby. In one room...

How the "Black Hawk" over the "Black Sea" screwed up

However, "American hope" was not shared by all Somalis. One of the field commanders, Muhammad Farah Aidid, completely considered the presence of foreign soldiers as interference in the internal affairs of the country. What a savage... Of course, the Americans tried to deal with him in the usual manner - with numerous casualties among the civilian population and without any harm to Aidid personally.

The ensuing confrontation led to the fact that in 1993 in Somalia, a whole tactical group "Ranger" - Task Force Ranger, came directly to the soul of Aidid. It included one company of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, a Delta squadron, and helicopters from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Night Hunters. Special forces - special forces nowhere! Elite to all elites. Well, this elite turned around on the move ...

The first operation to capture the "inconvenient" field commander was carried out "brilliantly" - the prey of the special forces was ... the official representative of the UN Development Program, three senior employees of UNOSOM II and an elderly Egyptian woman, a representative of one of the humanitarian organizations. Whoops…

However, as it turned out in that raid, the idiots were only warming up - the Americans themselves assessed all further operations as "not very successful." During one of them, the heroic "Delta" with a roar, shooting and all the required special effects heroically stormed the house of an entire Somali general, effectively putting him and, in addition, another 40 members of the Abgal clan "face to the ground". True, it later turned out that this general is the best friend of the UN, the United States in Somalia, and in fact he was put forward as a candidate for the post of the country's new police chief. Mdya ... With allies like the Americans, it’s as if enemies are not needed ...

The bodyaga with attempts to capture Aidid himself, or at least someone from his inner circle, dragged on for a long time, tediously and unsuccessfully. Without a doubt, the role played by the fact that the American General Howe, who "steering" the process, perceived him as another "dirty native", while Aidid had a decent military education, received, including in the USSR. Well, the smartest army, no questions...

And finally, the long-awaited day "X" has come! According to intelligence data, on October 3, 1993, in the region of the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, which was called the "Black Sea", Omar Salad, Aidid's adviser, and Abdi Gasan Aval, nicknamed Kebdid, the Minister of Internal Affairs in Aidid's "shadow government", were to meet. Aidid himself was allowed to appear. The Yankees could not miss such an opportunity! A real armada was prepared for the capture - twenty units of aircraft, twelve cars and about one hundred and sixty personnel. Armored Hummers, trucks full of Rangers, and, of course, Black Hawks. Where would we be without them...

The beginning of the operation was marked by events ... let's say, in a purely American style. In general, she almost broke down because the agent, who was supposed to stop the car near the house where potential targets would gather, and thus give a signal to capture, left his car in a completely different point with a fright. The entire armada mentioned above almost rushed to storm an empty place. Understood. The agent was either reprimanded or intimidated, and, having once again circled the block, he stopped at the right place. And away we go!

We will not (out of pity) focus on such moments of the operation as the "elite ranger" who blurted out when landing from a helicopter from a twenty-meter height. Or on a desperate assault by two four commandos of an impregnable fortress, which turned out to be ... a stationery store. Well, it happens... One way or another, two of Aidid's close associates and two dozen more people with them were captured by the Americans, and an evacuation convoy moved to the Black Sea area to extract them. And this is where the jokes ended. The bloody hell has begun.

By nine o'clock in the evening it became completely clear that there was no way to cope with the "most-most army in the world" on its own. The Americans rushed headlong to ask for help from their colleagues in the peacekeeping contingent. As a result, the “elite of the US army” was saved by Pakistani and Malaysian “armor”! She pulled out, so to speak, their asses - as the Americans themselves like to say in such cases.

But even if we assume that this figure is at least somewhat close to the truth, then the result is not the most shameful, but the most shameful! Do not forget that dozens of “turntables” poured fire on the Somalis from airborne weapons - only helicopters covering the last evacuation column shot 80 thousand rounds of ammunition and 100 rockets around the city! The “unsurpassed elite” of the US Army, the magnificent superspecial forces, from the very sight of which, theoretically, the “bad guys” should have scattered within a radius of at least hundreds of miles, were opposed by rebels armed by no means the newest Kalashnikovs and, at most, RPGs. . According to some reports, almost half of them were women and children.

In Somalia, October 3 is called "Ranger's Day" and is still almost a national holiday. In the United States, these events were dubbed “the second Pearl Harbor. A humiliating "truce" had to be concluded with Aidid. The US Secretary of Defense was dismissed, and the “strongest army” left Somalia after these events literally the next year. The rest of the UN troops soon followed. Since then, none of the “peacekeepers” dares to meddle in this territory anymore.

Operation Cottage. Full pussy...

In this part of the story, I willy-nilly have to break the chronological principle, which I adhered to earlier. It’s just that the episode, which will be discussed below, is not only unequivocally the most shameful page in the history of the US Army, but may well be recognized as perhaps the greatest military shame of all times and peoples.

For what the hell the Japanese ran into the Aleutian Islands in 1942, no one has established for sure. Some military historians said that from there the imperial army was preparing to "take Alaska." Or - to build air bases for bombing the United States. However, this explanation seems doubtful. Yes, that's not the point.

In 1943, the Americans, who had bombarded the islands with many tons of bombs for a year, finally mustered up the courage to retake them. In May, they landed on the island of Attu, and for three weeks it turned into the arena of the bloodiest battle. Despite the fact that the Japanese army was a military adversary of the USSR, I cannot refrain from words of admiration addressed to her. The Japanese fought like heroes, like real samurai - Warriors who put honor above life. Left without cartridges and grenades, they met the Americans with bayonets, swords and knives. More than half a thousand American soldiers and officers found their death on Attu, more than a thousand the US Army lost wounded. Well, and non-combat losses - twice as much ...

The next day, we managed (finally!) to establish normal communication and the admiral was informed: “There are NO Japanese on the island! Nancy! Raccoon! Your Mother!" Well, it probably sounded something like that... After wiping the sweat that must have flowed from under his snow-white cap, Kicknade decided to back off. In the literal and figurative sense, he gave the command to the Abner Rean to "join the main forces of the fleet." However, instead of this, the destroyer, barely moving away from the coast, managed to run into a mine, which he managed to miss in an unimaginable way ... skip a minesweeper darting along the island. 71 sailors were killed, fifty were injured, and five completely disappeared in foggy waters without a trace.

“But what about the Japanese?!” - you ask. Oh, yes ... The Japanese calmly left the island a few weeks before the assault, not wanting to ruin people and resources in a completely useless battle. And rightly so - the "smartest army in the world" did just fine without them.

In the US Army ... well, it somehow happened ... there never were Matrosovs, Gastello, Talalikhins. But there were brave paratroopers who crawled on their knees in front of the Fritz in Normandy, and "surrendered" on their own initiative the timing of the offensive (see Part 1), or burned the children of Song My in Vietnam. There was NOTHING SIMILAR in either the Soviet or the Russian army. Never.

Now, that's all for sure. Big hello to Mr. John Kirby!

The first part of our review.

Alexander Neukropny especially for Planet Today

American soldiers. Men of steel, full-metal shells, in general, Rex that won't go into battle without toilet paper. Probably only Agafya Lykova and a dozen reindeer herders have not heard about the heroic battles on a planetary scale under the flag of Pindosia, due to the lack of communications. You and I are aware of the most epic jambs of the “most strong army world", of course after the orcs of Petuny Gunpowder. So here it is complete collection files are stored in deaf archives under the supervision of archivists overgrown with moss. Let me remind the respected community of several such cases.

The man and the ship Ivan Makov.

Or Senator McCain, who, in all seriousness, was offered the title of Hero by the General Staff of the USSR Ministry of Defense Soviet Union for 25 destroyed fighters and a burned-out aircraft carrier.

In October 1967, Vanyatka was shot down during one of the raids on Hanoi.
The Vietnamese used to beat the Pindos with hoes, making it clear that the fairy tale was over. But Vanka McCain was not only not torn off, but pulled out of the water, sent to the hospital and almost cured. Then, however, they put him in jail for a five-year term, but it could have been worse.
Ivan claimed that he was regularly beaten, humiliated, getting military secret and forcing them to sign "statements of remorse". However, Chan Chong Duet, head of the Vietnamese prison Hoa Lo, says that the admiral's offspring (and his dad had become commander of the US 7th Fleet by that time) were not tortured - he was considered a VIP prisoner.

By the way, health care to the American military in North Vietnam only if the military agreed to cooperate and handed over to the Vietnamese classified information

Experts call the operation "Cottage" to liberate Kiski, one of the Aleutian Islands from the Japanese, in August 1943 "number one" in the shameful list.
"Cleansing" a small island, on which by this time there was not a single enemy soldier left, the US military managed to lose more than 300 people.

The "battle" for Kyska was reminiscent of the cartoon "Hedgehog in the Fog". Under the "cover" of the fog, the Japanese organized themselves out of the trap, having mined both the land and the sea. The operation to evacuate the Kyski garrison was carried out perfectly and entered the textbooks of military affairs.
Two cruisers and a dozen destroyers Japanese fleet were rapidly transferred to the island of Kyska, entered the harbor, within 45 minutes they took on board more than five thousand people and on high speed went back to their geishas the same way they came. Their retreat was covered by 15 submarines.
The hardened Americans didn't notice anything. Admiral Sherman explains this by the fact that the patrol ships at that time left for refueling, and reconnaissance from the air was not carried out due to heavy fog. Even though it's complete bullshit.
The evacuation of the garrison took place on July 29, 1943, and already on August 2, Japanese transports arrived safely on Paramushir Island in the Kuril chain. And the Canadian-American landing force landed on Kiska only on August 15th. And if you can still believe in the fogs, then it is difficult to assume that the patrol ships refueled for almost two weeks.

During these two weeks, between the competent evacuation of the samurai and the landing, the US command continued to build up the grouping in the Aleuts and bomb the island.
“Meanwhile, aerial reconnaissance, which, according to the truth-seeker Sherman, was not carried out, discovered strange things: the insidious Japs stopped filling bomb craters, fearlessly walking around the island, fishing and taking pictures in heroic poses. Boats and barges rested peacefully in the bay. And oh, horror, the anti-aircraft guns were silent. After scratching their turnips, the American command decided that the unscrupulous Japanese were drinking sake in bunkers and were preparing to fuck the amers with pissing rags in close combat. And they decided to score with the landing for a couple of weeks.
The plan was brilliant: American and Canadian forces landed at two points at once west coast Kyski - all in accordance with the classic tactics of capturing territory, as they say in their textbooks. On that day, American warships bombarded the island eight times, dropped 135 tons of bombs and piles of leaflets calling for surrender on the island. There was no one to give up.

With such a game of Zarnitsa, the Marines managed to lose more than 300 people killed and wounded. 31 american soldier died due to "friendly fire", naively believing that the Japs were shooting, another fifty were shot in the same way. About 130 soldiers were out of action due to frostbite of the legs and "trench foot" - a fungal infection of the feet, which was facilitated by constant humidity and cold.
In addition, a Japanese mine was blown up American destroyer"Abner Reed", on board which 47 people were killed and more than 70 were injured.

In order to drive the Japanese out of there, over 100,000 troops and a large amount of materiel and tonnage were eventually used, a balance of power unprecedented in the history of world wars.

The Normandy Landings, also known as Operation Overlord, is the most widely publicized battle of World War II in Western media space. Remember there, the rescue of various privates, Brad Pitt either on a tank, or without a tank, and so on. It is not surprising, because from that moment a full-fledged war of the "allies" with Germany began.

Films, video games and books show the landings as a real meat grinder in which thousands of Americans, Canadians and British died. But in reality, a large-scale operation looked much more modest.

So, according to the most pessimistic data, the allies lost about 200 thousand people on the days of the landing. Moreover, this figure includes not only the dead, but also the wounded, as well as the missing. For comparison, only in the Battle for the Dnieper Soviet and German side lost 1.2 million killed and wounded, with each side

It is even more interesting that the landing in Normandy was preceded by another operation, which is not filmed, and generally prefer not to be mentioned - Operation Tiger.

All information about the special operation "Tiger" was stored deep in the archives for almost half a century. Only in the mid-80s, the materials were partially declassified. The official version of events in April 1944 was as follows.
At that time, the States were already in full swing with pussies with Japan for dominance in pacific ocean. For this, both the main forces of the navy and the entire marine corps were transferred to the region. Accordingly, only line infantrymen remained to storm the beaches of Normandy, and they urgently needed to be retrained and turned into marines. To do this, General Dwight Eisenhower came up with an excellent plan - to organize a military landing in Britain.

In the town of Slapton, for such an undertaking, there was an excellent beach, perfectly similar to the Normandy coast. But there was a problem, people lived there. Old Eisenhower insisted that the exercises should be as close as possible to the upcoming battle. Therefore, the authorities gently, but with pressure, persuaded 3,000 tolerant Britons to move for a while to stay with their relatives, so as not to die under stray shells.
There was something to fear. Since the command insisted on realistic exercises, the British cruiser Hawkins was allocated, which was supposed to plow the coast with live shells an hour before the start of the operation, and after that the “Germans” and “allies” entered the scene.

The start of Operation Tiger was scheduled for the morning of April 27. To do this, the British cruiser and American landing craft had to leave the port late at night. However, the cruiser arrived late and did not enter the port, but met the Americans along the way. It was only at the meeting that it turned out that on American ships and British cruiser encryption codes do not match. But, the timer was running, and Eisenhower was waiting for a fire show on the shore. To coordinate their actions, the captains of the ships went on the air, which was a catastrophic mistake. The cunning Germans filtered out the mess on the radio, and nine fast and highly maneuverable boats under the command of German officer Gunther Rabe. Simple and elegant. Not tolerant, but effective.

Under cover of darkness, German scows with a motor approached the enemy ships and fired the first torpedoes. One landing immediately went to the rainbow, the second received heavy damage and the Marines got bored, panicked and jumped overboard along with all their ammunition. As a result, even the presence of life jackets did not help them out; under the weight of weapons and other uniforms, they turned upside down in the water. At this time, the guns of the Hawkins thundered. But in the dark, the British mixed up the targets and fired a volley at the allies, and only scraps remained from the landing craft. While the terpils were sorting out where someone was, the Germans jumped off this roast, giving a farewell torpedo salvo, which turned the nose of another transport.

In the morning, the Marines began to count the losses - 700 Americans, British and Canadians. In order not to undermine morale, the command ordered all data on Operation Tiger to be classified, and the bodies of the dead to be buried near Slapton. They did not write names on the grave tablets, but simply put the date and numbers. locals for a long time thought they were buried there German soldiers who died at sea during an attack on a transport ship and were later buried by British sailors next to their makeshift training ground.

But the secrets of the ingenious operation "Tiger" do not end there, it was only official version voiced in the 80s. A few years later, British public figures, journalists and veterans' societies began to delve into Operation Tiger in more detail in order to replace the numbers on the plates with real names. dead soldiers. And then inconsistencies began to emerge, and the official version spread at the seams. As it turned out, the reality was somewhat different.
The cruiser "Hawkings" was really late, so the landings headed for the beach-polygon in Slapton only under the cover of coastal batteries. On the spot, they had to wait for the appointed hour, when the Hawkins guns dug up the beach from behind the horizon, and begin landing. There were also the mentioned communication problems. So, the captain of the cruiser received incorrect data on the progress of the operation.
As a result, the British annealed half an hour later than expected. At this time, the defending "Germans" were already on the beach, and the landing ships landed the "Marines". Shells "Hawkins" lay down as expected, right among the soldiers. Allied soldier. As a result of a half-hour shelling, 700 soldiers marched towards the Apostle Peter. The transports themselves also got it, which would later be credited to the German sailors.
As is already known, General Eisenhower and the future President of the United States did not suffer any punishment for the enchanting organization of Operation Tiger - they simply imposed a secrecy stamp.
This story was revealed thanks to a 10-year-old student from Slapton, who became interested in history native land and wrote an innocent essay about the cemetery of unknown soldiers. His story was reprinted by the local newspaper, and so the millstone was launched, grinding a bunch of official jambs.
All this is just a brief overview of the pages of shame of the army of a potential enemy, but one should not underestimate the enemy. Let's hope that we will not have to experience the hardships and hardships of wartime in all its glory, but still ...

Portal for the student. Self-training

From Vietnam to Kiska

Ash Songmy

How the "Black Hawk" over the "Black Sea" screwed up

Operation Cottage. Full pussy...

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