Top 20 Worst Decisions in History

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  • Опубліковано 14 тра 2024
  • These blunders were truly historic. For this list, we’ll be looking at historical mistakes that have us slapping our foreheads in retrospect. Our countdown includes The Bay of Pigs Invasion, Napoléon’s Invasion of Russia, The Fourth Crusade, Japan Brings the United States Into World War II, Hitler Invades Russia, and more! If there's a historical mistake you feel we were mistaken for excluding, help us rectify things in the comments!
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    #WorstDecisionsInHistory
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,1 тис.

  • @WatchMojo
    @WatchMojo  11 місяців тому +72

    If there's a historical mistake you feel we were mistaken for excluding, help us rectify things in the comments!
    For more content like this, click here: ua-cam.com/video/1FsGZsdOICU/v-deo.html
    Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm and 8pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!

    • @ethancuasay4226
      @ethancuasay4226 11 місяців тому +8

      The MS St Louis! Canada, Cuba, and the U.S. rejected Jewish refugees from Europe, and 25% of the passengers eventually died in the Holocaust I believe

    • @DachshundDogStarluck19
      @DachshundDogStarluck19 11 місяців тому

      "Wars of Aggressors always make bigger, more costly mistakes based on prideful military miscalculations than Wars of Defenders."

    • @toxic5275
      @toxic5275 11 місяців тому

      Ww3?!

    • @ChristoAbrie
      @ChristoAbrie 11 місяців тому +3

      the Battle of Blood River in South Africa. Voortrekker leader Piet Retief attempted to peacefully sign a Land Treaty with the Zulu King Dingane. After signing the treaty, Retief and his entourage was invited by Dingane to a celebration at his home, led into a false sense of security, Retief and his entire entourage was then brutally murdered by the Zulu King's soldiers. This eventually led to the bloody retaliation from the Voortrekkers at the location that is now known as Blood River, because the river became red with the blood of the Zulus. of the 10 000 Zulus, 3000 were killed, while only 3 of the 460 Voortrekkers were actually wounded. Another Historical mistake is the Anglo-Boer Wars. For the first War, it again was a case of "not researching the environment", so the underdog Boer Republics severely spanked the renowned invading British Empire that ran home with it's tail between it's legs. For the Second Boer War, although the Boers lost against the return of the Empire, they did put up one helluva fight with +/- 25 000 dead British soldiers compared to the +/-6 000 dead Afrikaners. So in short, don't pick a fight with an Afrikaner.

    • @MiguelLopez-yc2rh
      @MiguelLopez-yc2rh 11 місяців тому

      Annual Disaster of 1921

  • @joshuamohlman
    @joshuamohlman 11 місяців тому +288

    “Bad decisions made with good intentions are still bad decisions.”
    - James C. Collins

    • @thedevilsrockstxr2309
      @thedevilsrockstxr2309 11 місяців тому +2

      I fucks with tht....I tell people all the time, intentions mean nun after the fact

    • @joshuamohlman
      @joshuamohlman 11 місяців тому

      @@thedevilsrockstxr2309 damn straight

    • @OTMM22
      @OTMM22 11 місяців тому +5

      The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

    • @joshuamohlman
      @joshuamohlman 11 місяців тому

      @@OTMM22 facts

    • @oz-1037
      @oz-1037 3 місяці тому +1

      Best way to summarize an anti-villain

  • @SombraCheeks
    @SombraCheeks 11 місяців тому +788

    Whoever told Amy Schumer she was funny, probably worst decision ever.

  • @Bringthewinter
    @Bringthewinter 11 місяців тому +246

    The concept of thousands to millions of people dying due to the poor decisions of incompetent leaders is both sad and terrifying. Being a leader isn’t easy, but too many want the power without the responsibility or even the intellect.

    • @SirsasthNigam.
      @SirsasthNigam. 11 місяців тому +11

      “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”=George Santayana

    • @heavyartillery-qm5hu
      @heavyartillery-qm5hu 11 місяців тому +4

      It's still better than not having leaders.

    • @goliathbroodia942
      @goliathbroodia942 11 місяців тому +1

      Oh god.

    • @goliathbroodia942
      @goliathbroodia942 11 місяців тому

      @@heavyartillery-qm5hu This is what the not included parts of the video was about in the beginning of the vid. welp, anyways.

    • @pedroh.6886
      @pedroh.6886 11 місяців тому +1

      @@heavyartillery-qm5hu I would easily trade Putin for a chimp

  • @TheWarmachine375
    @TheWarmachine375 11 місяців тому +368

    Those who forget the past tends to repeat it.

    • @josmith213
      @josmith213 11 місяців тому +24

      It's not forget, some, well most people never learned it

    • @TheNoobGamer8
      @TheNoobGamer8 11 місяців тому +3

      We have amnesia

    • @Lamb666
      @Lamb666 11 місяців тому

      Yet these morons are allowed to get through school despite failing the course.

    • @WangLow
      @WangLow 11 місяців тому +5

      The head professor of a History department told me "History never repeats itself, but it rhymes."

    • @connorboyd6092
      @connorboyd6092 11 місяців тому +2

      History is already repeating same shit different countries kind of lol

  • @wolftickets1969
    @wolftickets1969 11 місяців тому +358

    Honorable mention: the Challenger space shuttle disaster; launching the shuttle in sub-freezing temperatures despite repeated warnings against it, resulting in an O-ring seal rupture and explosion that killed the entire crew.

    • @andrewsmith2916
      @andrewsmith2916 11 місяців тому +18

      I was thinking about that. Not huge on terms of lives lost but it very nearly was the end of NASA and the space program.

    • @josmith213
      @josmith213 11 місяців тому

      You really believed that bs movie? Search space shuttle challenger alive and hit images, nobody died

    • @Fujikawa-hw6ij
      @Fujikawa-hw6ij 11 місяців тому +3

      Just finished the book af Alan Mcdonal interesting and educational. Can recommend it. It baffles me how careless some people where during those warnings and ultimately tried to pin it on others

    • @CharlieBam
      @CharlieBam 11 місяців тому +3

      In the greater historical context, I think a few people dying on a space launch is totally insignificant. It didn't create any larger impact, just a sad story.

    • @seferinorino6951
      @seferinorino6951 11 місяців тому

      They did say at the start it was about military actions

  • @WithScienceAsMySheperd
    @WithScienceAsMySheperd 11 місяців тому +70

    "The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created.
    This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."
    - DOUGLAS ADAMS

  • @gavinlaurent573
    @gavinlaurent573 7 місяців тому +11

    You could argue that the assassination of arch duke franz furdinand was the worst decision, directly led to WW1 and that led to WW2, which led to the Cold War, and it goes on and on.

  • @CringerKitty
    @CringerKitty 11 місяців тому +53

    Only 20? Oh, we can do better than that! Humanity has failed tremendously over and over again. Maybe Top 100 at least.

    • @nathanbyd570
      @nathanbyd570 11 місяців тому +3

      You are right, but that video would be too long..

  • @MaxModded
    @MaxModded 11 місяців тому +73

    "The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history."

  • @SMToonAsia
    @SMToonAsia 11 місяців тому +264

    My personal list: joining the military, going to college for a career the department of labor claiming to be the fastest growing, and fully trusting my girlfriend of ten years.
    It's a miracle I'm still OK.

    • @860601405021
      @860601405021 11 місяців тому +5

      No one cares

    • @jeanalex8992
      @jeanalex8992 11 місяців тому +9

      Bruh, you're most likely not..

    • @MasterOfViewership
      @MasterOfViewership 11 місяців тому +4

      🙄

    • @el_tio_Harry
      @el_tio_Harry 11 місяців тому +11

      ok thats cool, you should probably go see a therapist rather than leave it on a historical comments section XD

    • @joebob4591
      @joebob4591 11 місяців тому +9

      aint no way a cartoon channel posted that

  • @chic-fil-ashouldopenonsund3623
    @chic-fil-ashouldopenonsund3623 7 місяців тому +6

    whoever failed hitler in art school also probably was a bad decision.

    • @TheMotz55
      @TheMotz55 29 днів тому

      You are not kidding...

  • @domtromans2783
    @domtromans2783 11 місяців тому +34

    Russia's refusal to compromise and decision to gradually push towards conflict with Japan in 1903/4 must be up there somewhere. The Russo-Japanese War was an absolute catastrophe for the Russian Empire, and set the stage for a series of revolutions -- both in the dynamics of international relations, and in Russia itself...

    • @ivanr4300
      @ivanr4300 11 місяців тому

      The Jews in Wall Street pushed for this
      Jakob schiff funded the Russian revolution, thus killing thousands is Christian’s

    • @santhoshs9933
      @santhoshs9933 9 місяців тому

      Expansion of NATO was a bigger blunder than Russia fighting Ukraine.

    • @Andrew-df1dr
      @Andrew-df1dr Місяць тому

      The Russo-Japanese war had a huge and undervalued impact on not only these two countries but the world as a whole.

  • @chrisquarrie
    @chrisquarrie 11 місяців тому +116

    You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous of which is, 'never get involved in a land war in Asia,' but only slightly less well-known is this: 'Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!’

    • @uzzislx23
      @uzzislx23 11 місяців тому +14

      Inconceivable!

    • @pbrstreetgang5314
      @pbrstreetgang5314 11 місяців тому +11

      @@uzzislx23 You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

    • @juliaalexander5788
      @juliaalexander5788 11 місяців тому +8

      Anybody want a peanut?

    • @Sohltaker
      @Sohltaker 11 місяців тому +6

      Ahahahaha, ahahahahaha, ahahah… thud!

    • @elijahgiter9559
      @elijahgiter9559 11 місяців тому +4

      To think all that time the poison was in his glass

  • @mevgod2160
    @mevgod2160 11 місяців тому +78

    Napoleons invasion of Russia should be number 1. He completely and utterly dominated Europe while appearing unstoppable before invading Russia which directly led to his downfall

    • @TheLauren87
      @TheLauren87 11 місяців тому +28

      I think Hitler beats it since Napolean committed it first and Hitler repeated it.

    • @firstname4337
      @firstname4337 11 місяців тому

      WRONG

    • @SombraCheeks
      @SombraCheeks 11 місяців тому

      it sacked Moscow atleast

    • @goldengrill769
      @goldengrill769 11 місяців тому +1

      Its so interesting how Russia is always that last piece of what is considered by many to be Europe that nobody can ever quite get. Both times Europe would be won by France or Germany if they had just stopped and fortify for maybe 30 years eventually they would have resources to take Russia.

    • @SirsasthNigam.
      @SirsasthNigam. 11 місяців тому

      if Allies punished every nation equally , Fascism , Nazism ,WW2 and Atomic bombing wouldn't have happened

  • @SirAsdf
    @SirAsdf 11 місяців тому +58

    Something that a lot of people tend to forget about the buffer period between World War I and World War II is that Germany actually managed to make a big recovery and had a cultural Renaissance. It wasn't just all hyperinflation and poverty for the entire near 20 years.

    • @NardelVexman
      @NardelVexman 11 місяців тому

      Glad to see this in the comments. The Nazi party exaggerated the damage caused by Versailles as a means to gain power and we still repeat their propaganda today.

    • @andrewcutler4513
      @andrewcutler4513 11 місяців тому +11

      True, but there was always an undercurrent of "We didn't deserve that treaty" in the land. Couple that with the govt's seeming inability to pull Germany out of the Great Depression - not that other countries were doing much better - and one can see why the German people turned to the loudest voices that were confidently proclaiming, "We can do better for you".

    • @MrAnthimos112
      @MrAnthimos112 3 місяці тому +1

      No it wasn't all hyperinflation and poverty. There were also riots, political marches that ended in blood, failed coups, record unemployment, and tens of thousands of closing businesses. But perhaps you were referring to the period AFTER the Nazis came to power and all those jobs they created in rearming and modernizing the military? All that took was MASSIVE deficit spending during the Great Depression, dedicating 60%(!) of government spending between 1933 and 1939 to rearmament, and putting the country 38 BILLION Reichsmarks into debt by 1939. And by culture perhaps you meant all the propaganda films Joseph Goebbels made during that time extolling pure Germanic culture and Aryan blood? Or maybe you meant all the Jew hating pamphlets that were printed? Or perhaps you were referring to the book burnings? Or the destruction of thousands of works of art? After they were displayed in "Degenerate Art" exhibitions, of course. Or were you referring to the way the Nazis "protected" their culture by murdering the physically and mentally handicapped? And let's not forget the forced sterilizations of those of "mixed race". Perhaps you were referring to religious culture? Celebrated of course with wholesale theft of Catholic Church property by the state, imprisonment of thousands of priests in concentration camps, "morality" trials of Catholics, desecration of monasteries and convents, and murder of Catholic laymen. And of course we can't forget the German Jews. Remember that great German cultural event of Kristallnacht? When proud German citizens celebrated their "culture" alongside the SA and SS by burning the homes, businesses and Temples of thousands of their fellow German Citizens. So much rich cultural history to choose from during the interwar period!

    • @tellercyde
      @tellercyde 3 місяці тому

      @@MrAnthimos112 You sound angry and homosexual

    • @MrAnthimos112
      @MrAnthimos112 3 місяці тому

      @@tellercyde You sound hopeful. Sorry not interested.

  • @cliffcorson4000
    @cliffcorson4000 11 місяців тому +10

    On Mao's leap forward a key issue was Mao demanded every town/village to build smelters and melt down any metal. This included tools needed to plow fields

    • @shenhurst
      @shenhurst 11 місяців тому +5

      I think killing all the sparrows was worse for them than melting down the farm tools. Without the farm tools they still had grain, but without sparrows the unchecked insect population destroyed enough of it to cause one of the worst famines in history.

    • @cliffcorson4000
      @cliffcorson4000 11 місяців тому

      @@shenhurst without the tools they couldn't plow

    • @shenhurst
      @shenhurst 11 місяців тому

      @@cliffcorson4000 I haven't read anything about a farm tool shortage during the Great Leap Forward, the problem with the smelters was Mao's idea was that China would become a big steel producer with backyard smelters, but the smelters can only really produce pig iron, and they were to prioritize the smelting over the agricultural labor that produces food, which contributed to famine. Also you don't have anything to plow when bugs destroyed all your crops because you killed all the birds that eat bugs. When you melt down farm tools in a smelter, you still have the metal, which you can use to make farm tools. Killing the sparrows contributed more to the famine than the smelting.

    • @ameritoast5174
      @ameritoast5174 11 місяців тому +1

      The great Leap forward should of been near the top. Tens of millions died because of some stupid decisions.

    • @seanbigay1042
      @seanbigay1042 10 місяців тому

      Wasn't the Cultural Revolution even worse than the Great Leap Forward?

  • @davidsummers4845
    @davidsummers4845 8 місяців тому +5

    Brexit should be included in the list.

  • @seanlander9321
    @seanlander9321 11 місяців тому +26

    Churchill’s withdrawal of the escorts shielding Australian troops on their return from North Africa to fight the Japanese in New Guinea in 1942. Britain lost its most loyal dominion and proved that the Empire was as reliable as a French mistress.

  • @coasttocoast2011
    @coasttocoast2011 10 місяців тому +7

    It just shows how deeply Gallipoli affected us (Australia) and New Zealand when we have a national holiday each year (ANZAC Day) that started to remember those who lost their lives there - these days we remember all Australians and New Zealanders who’ve lost their lives in war on that day

  • @aaronslater470
    @aaronslater470 11 місяців тому +17

    History repeats itself because no one was listening the first time

  • @spivackl
    @spivackl 11 місяців тому +4

    Ok, Japan didn't attack Korea during WWII. They had colonized and ruled korea beginning in 1910, well before WWII. Operation barbarosa didn't last 5 months it lasted for years, essentially till the end of the war. China's "great leap forward" didn't happen in the "early to mid 20th century." It happened in the late 50s and early 60s.

  • @elfytheenby
    @elfytheenby 11 місяців тому +9

    as a turkish person and citizen i will say that gallipoli is important because it gave our people some sort of hope and made them get together to start our war of independence (turkish war of independence 1919-1923) with the leadership of Ataturk (which also was the general responsibe in gallipoli and the mastermind of our only victorious site in ww1) in the following years because of his victory and success in gallipoli ataturk was sent to many cities in anatolia wich was a huge opportunity to instate a court seperate from the west leaning and surrendered istanbul government then to band an army and fight the war of independence. Gallipoli was like a beacon of light in a long 150 year old pitch black tunnel that gave our people hope that there may be a free future without invasions and as a independent nation.
    I hope some time near we get something like this because as a queer teenager living in current day istanbul i am slowly losing hope and many are with me. we are truly going backwards as a country and it is getting scary.

  • @jmsmith1767
    @jmsmith1767 21 день тому +1

    The first person to tell Howard Stern he is a “Great Interviewer” changed the greatest radio show of all time forever.

  • @bonnieparker9584
    @bonnieparker9584 10 місяців тому +6

    As a teacher of history I find list interesting and generally valid but a over simplified. It is easy to look back and find errors but do not get smug, others will be do same to us.

  • @ML3180
    @ML3180 11 місяців тому +33

    Failing to hold the perpetrators of the Iraq War accountable was a far bigger mistake than most realize. That was the definitive beginning of the end of international law as we know it and a signal that 'Might is Right' is the only true maxim of international relations.

    • @christopherrousseau1173
      @christopherrousseau1173 11 місяців тому

      The UN is powerless to enforce anything against the USA, Russia, or China.

  • @analerma3837
    @analerma3837 11 місяців тому +17

    this list explains why Winston was fired after WW2 ended

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому +4

      No it doesn't. He was super popular in his personal capacity, but the Conservative Party suffered a major backlash when Tommy Atkinson (as the troops in the Brit Army was called) got to vote after eating sh1t from the officer class since 1939.

    • @Sohltaker
      @Sohltaker 11 місяців тому +2

      Someone is letting their Labour Party show.

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому +1

      @@Sohltaker I'm not a Brit and there is no Labour Party where I hang out. The reason for the Conservative Party losing the election is well documented.

  • @DeadmanDave
    @DeadmanDave 11 місяців тому +11

    It's scary how one bad decision can have devastating consequences.

  • @adityaparikh8237
    @adityaparikh8237 11 місяців тому +31

    Maybe you should’ve included the fact that the Allies also didn’t impose any conditions on any of the other losing countries like Austria-Hungary, the most responsible for the war since they left the war, leaving Germany to take all of the blame.

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому +3

      Damn! I never thought of this, but then again the Austrians were super keen to join the Reich.

    • @bettinarado6197
      @bettinarado6197 11 місяців тому +9

      as a Hungarian, I've been hearing about consequences all my life, mostly about the Treaty of Trianon when after WW I the allies took a lot of territories from the Hungarian Kingdom (which I thought was fair, being on the losing side of the war, but don't tell anyone, it's a super touchy subject here). towards the end of WW II we were also occupied by the Germans, "liberated" by the Soviets, then they stayed here for a nice long time and effed up the entire nation for generations installing a great system of corruption and hardcore trust issues. I'm sure the Austrians didn't escape punishment either, but I don't know their history in depth, especially this shameful bit (then again, most nations don't advertise their major losses).

    • @darkgardenrecords9264
      @darkgardenrecords9264 11 місяців тому

      Facts, they drummed it up

    • @el_tio_Harry
      @el_tio_Harry 11 місяців тому +7

      Bro what tf you on? Hungary lost 72% of its territory. Search up Treaty of St Germain that diminished most of Austria's population an territory?

    • @el_tio_Harry
      @el_tio_Harry 11 місяців тому +2

      @@bettinarado6197 yeah thats the one Treaty of Trianon Hungary lost 72% of its terriotry and the majority of its population, not to mention the territory that was lost was most of its industrial regions.

  • @paulnorton2885
    @paulnorton2885 11 місяців тому +30

    It probably isn't accurate to describe Afghanistan as a Middle Eastern country. It is a central Asian country, with a quite different history, and a different mix of peoples and cultures, than those of the Middle Eastern countries.

  • @SongmakersCry
    @SongmakersCry 11 місяців тому +2

    I thoroughly enjoyed this video, and now have to do more research on these topics.

  • @user-hj2vc2wz5s
    @user-hj2vc2wz5s 6 місяців тому +3

    Pete Carrol calling a pass play at the 1 yard line with Marshawn Lynch in the backfield to lose the Super Bowl . Easily worst decision ever🤦🏽‍♂️

    • @EnigmaKillswitch
      @EnigmaKillswitch 3 дні тому

      Why did I laugh at this?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣All he had to do was trust in Beast Mode.

  • @Barricade379
    @Barricade379 11 місяців тому +10

    Honorable mention, Soviet Union choosing Kim Il Sung to lead North Korea

    • @danabnormal5988
      @danabnormal5988 11 місяців тому

      The USSR wanted someone whom the people would follow, but they could also control. The other main candidate was out because he was a Christian.

    • @el_tio_Harry
      @el_tio_Harry 11 місяців тому +1

      Shit, good point. I didnt even realise he was elected by the soviets, but so was Syngman Rhee tho by the Americans. who was deeply unpopular. The real fault here was the inability of the US and USSR to listen and leave the KPR to self govern. How far would you agree?

    • @Barricade379
      @Barricade379 11 місяців тому

      @@el_tio_Harry Both choices by the Soviets and America were dumb and stupid. At the cost of many lives, including innocents on both sides
      But America supported many anti-communist dictators throughout the world so its no surprise that the communists had support in quite a significant way

    • @codyhilton1750
      @codyhilton1750 2 місяці тому

      MacArthur going North to the Yalu River where China would enter the war.

  • @bnice9810
    @bnice9810 11 місяців тому +3

    Very surprised to not see myself on this list

  • @dennisanderson3895
    @dennisanderson3895 11 місяців тому +11

    1:22 Not widely known, on the actual day of the Bay of Pigs invasion, JFK had a terrible flare up of his back issues and was out of commission; It was his brother Robert calling the shots for the U.S. and who withheld the air support, assuring failure. (Why he did so, I do not know.)

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому +3

      That's almost as bad as Woodrow Wilson's wife running the government when he was incapacitated by a stroke. Shouldn't every country have constitutional provisions for what happens when the boss is temporarily sidelined, or permanently sidelined when there is no time to yadda yadda?

    • @amandad802
      @amandad802 11 місяців тому +7

      ​@@dougerrohmerUm, yeah I think it's called the Vice President.

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому

      @@amandad802 I'm not so sure that that is actually mandated by the constitution. Yes, when the Prez dies there is a path, but like I said when Woodrow Wilson was drooling in a wheelchair, his wife ran the government at a very crucial stage of world history. Also, sometimes Vice Presidents aren't in the inner circle. When President Roosevelt died in another crucial moment, Truman was sworn in and only then did he even hear about the nukes' existence. By all accounts Roosevelt excluded him from so much that he had to really suddenly think on his feet to make some crucial decisions. This, as well as the balls he showed when he fired MacArthur, makes him one of my most admired world leaders ever.

    • @ClassicStreetIron
      @ClassicStreetIron 11 місяців тому +3

      And the CIA not sending the support they promised and let the rebels die on the beach.

    • @wintersnoob
      @wintersnoob 11 місяців тому

      @@ClassicStreetIron It's very clear the Bay of Pigs failed because the US wanted to. There was no support and the invading force was ill-equipped. They were going to topple the Cuban communist regime with that militia force? What a joke.

  • @yuriykalustyan3756
    @yuriykalustyan3756 2 місяці тому +1

    The Seahawks choosing to throw it at the one yard line in Super Bowl 49 should’ve topped all these tbh

  • @hurafloyd
    @hurafloyd 11 місяців тому +7

    I thought the appeasement plan of Chamberlain would make the list, although that wouldnt have happened of the Versailles treaty had been completely different.

  • @kilo5869
    @kilo5869 11 місяців тому +4

    *Top 20 Worst Decisions in History*
    "This should be good...oh hey that's me!"

  • @gedhoughton9523
    @gedhoughton9523 11 місяців тому +6

    WatchMojo: Military leaders since Napoleons defeat have learned never to ignore the environmental aspects.
    Also WatchMojo: Forgets The Finnish-Soviet Winter War and Operation Barbarossa

    • @janetbyars84
      @janetbyars84 11 місяців тому +1

      WatchMojo : talks fancy
      Regular folks : NEVER INVADE RUSSIA IN WINTER!

    • @patpowers9210
      @patpowers9210 11 місяців тому

      Operation Barbarossa was covered.

    • @MrStolboy
      @MrStolboy 10 місяців тому

      @@janetbyars84 nobody invaded russia in winter, both napoleon and hitler invaded in the summer

  • @evenisher
    @evenisher 11 місяців тому +7

    thank you for the correct pronunciation of "Moctezuma" "Xocoyotzin" and "Tenochtitlán"

    • @nHans
      @nHans 11 місяців тому +1

      But she pronounced "Genghis" wrong 😢

  • @capribubb9659
    @capribubb9659 11 місяців тому +3

    Before setting out on Revenge, you first dig two graves. Those who don’t learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it. 😢😢

  • @dudeman3973
    @dudeman3973 8 місяців тому +4

    Surprised I didn't see Seattle deciding to pass on the 1-yard line.

  • @gradyriewer1641
    @gradyriewer1641 11 місяців тому +2

    One mistake Japan made was attacking Pearl Harbor. The second was not destroying it completely.
    1. They should have attacked when the carriers were there.
    2. They should have destroyed the fuel depot next to the harbor
    3. They should have destroyed the drydocks so the ships couldn't be repaired so fast. One of the drydocks were used to fix the carrier Yorktown in time for Midway which unarguably changed the outcome of the battle

  • @user-em6ie2be7x
    @user-em6ie2be7x 11 місяців тому +30

    The Vietnam War.

    • @alwillk
      @alwillk 8 місяців тому

      Def for the US. Escalating that war was the worst decision in American history in the last 100 years.

  • @MiddlesGamertag
    @MiddlesGamertag 11 місяців тому +6

    I think that it should be mentioned that due to a demotion Custer was technically not the commanding officer of the entire army during the Little Big Horn. Rather he was the commanding officer of his column and there were other columns led by Reno and Benteen respectively that are heavily shrouded in controversy for their lack of response during the battle. Does this exonerate Custer? Absolutely not, does it encourage the examination of the Little Big Horn with a different light yet? I believe it does.

  • @kevinkunkel9444
    @kevinkunkel9444 11 місяців тому +12

    If everyone learned your lesson from Napoleon's invasion of Russia, then how do you explain Hitler's invasion of Russia.

    • @christopherrousseau1173
      @christopherrousseau1173 11 місяців тому

      Hitler was a moron?

    • @imaginedmountains2311
      @imaginedmountains2311 11 місяців тому

      Frankly the answer to that question is Hitler.

    • @janetbyars84
      @janetbyars84 11 місяців тому +2

      They forgot the biggest lesson of history, never invade Russia in winter

    • @jackgoodman2498
      @jackgoodman2498 11 місяців тому

      @@janetbyars84 Hitler invaded Russia at the beginning of summer

    • @seanbigay1042
      @seanbigay1042 10 місяців тому

      Clearly, in this instance, "everyone" was a sad exaggeration.

  • @samuelrey98
    @samuelrey98 7 місяців тому +1

    Germany invading Stalingrad was a pretty costly mistake as well

  • @finnwarren1567
    @finnwarren1567 11 місяців тому +7

    This Australian long term fan of Watchmojo wants to show his appreciation for your use of shots and mention towards ‘Gallipoli’

  • @pbrstreetgang5314
    @pbrstreetgang5314 11 місяців тому +3

    Sazonov refusing to heed the advice of Portales to not mobilize the Russian army against Austria should be on this list considering what happened cost the lives of millions, end the monarchs of Europe and brought about two of the most oppressive regimes in history.

    • @Solaxe
      @Solaxe 11 місяців тому

      this war would've started no matter what in some other form. Europe was BOILING back then

  • @j.dunlop8295
    @j.dunlop8295 Місяць тому +2

    Gallipoli, when the idiots in the rear with the gear, don't reconnoiter (understand terrain) Churchill!😢

  • @therealbutterscotch8658
    @therealbutterscotch8658 11 місяців тому +2

    What happened to Picketts charge? That blunder turned the civil war

  • @raoulhery
    @raoulhery 11 місяців тому +6

    All the COVID mess should be up there. Money printing, debt, inflation, mental problems (leading to drugs), education divide, it's a complete economic disaster.

  • @globetrekker86
    @globetrekker86 11 місяців тому +7

    A truly heartbreaking part about Pripyat (the city impacted by the meltdown) is that it was intended as a brand-new residential complex for families, complete with schools, workspaces, playgrounds, the Ferris wheel… It’s the Titanic of small towns. The disaster occurred in April; I came along in July, a few miles away, so the effects are palpable

  • @BlenderStudy
    @BlenderStudy 11 місяців тому

    Thank you for the update, WatchMojo..!! The Thin Red Line (1998), I remember that movie. Me and my brother convinced my parents to watch the movie together, because George Clooney was starring in the movie. 🤣 (They were his fans since the 90s..) 🤣

  • @AnthonyMason-cq9gi
    @AnthonyMason-cq9gi 8 місяців тому

    Excellent and Powerful list.😍😍😍😍

  • @alexandrekuritza5685
    @alexandrekuritza5685 11 місяців тому +9

    Completely disagree with number one, it could have been prevented indeed, but saying muh Versailles is bad isn't accurate either, you can easily compare the Treaty of Versaille to the one of Brest-Litovsk Treaty and see that amongst the two, Versaille was a lot more lenient.

    • @jerometellenbachk
      @jerometellenbachk 10 місяців тому

      The treaty would have been good if the French would not have imposed on their harsh position against Germany.

    • @alexandrekuritza5685
      @alexandrekuritza5685 10 місяців тому

      @@jerometellenbachk this is wrong common sense

    • @jerometellenbachk
      @jerometellenbachk 10 місяців тому

      @@alexandrekuritza5685 why?

    • @alexandrekuritza5685
      @alexandrekuritza5685 10 місяців тому

      @@jerometellenbachk
      One, the treaty that ended the Franco-Prussian war required a harsher payment from France to the new-born German Empire than the treaty of Versailles required, and take not, one was just a "normal" war and the other was the biggest war in all of time up to this point
      Two, The German industry was relatively untouched by the war itself, it was engaged on France, RuZZia, the Balkans and on the Arabian peninsula, but very little fighting did take place on Germany itself, so it's not like they couldn't produce things to pay out their mild bills
      Three, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was harsher on Ruzzia than Versailles was on Germany, so it is not only a double standard, but a triple one, and even worse if you consider other treaties.
      Muh Versailles Treaty was the cause of ww2 is bs told by the Reichmen to place blame on Jews and everyone else that they didn't like, but in reality Germany was militarily defeated on the field for her inability to fight the whole world at once. Krauts and Ruzzkies can go to hell.

  • @greyworld6242
    @greyworld6242 11 місяців тому +3

    Remind me again please why are we humans so stupid?

  • @MoreRubberyThanTurgid
    @MoreRubberyThanTurgid 8 місяців тому +2

    How the Allies decided to divide up Germany / Europe after WWII has to rank pretty highly as a bad decision - it lead directly to the Cold War & Stalin taking all of Eastern Europe. Perhaps it was unavoidable.

  • @chingchaching24
    @chingchaching24 11 місяців тому +1

    I thought number one was going to be the good ol' "Seahawks running it"

  • @Kehman86
    @Kehman86 11 місяців тому +3

    The Regal ship Vasa made it about 1,400 yd when it sank like a rock taking 30 men women and children with it to the depths and was gone for 333 years. It was top heavy and the cannon windows was to low, so when the captain decided not to close them... Well, yeah.

  • @katroyal6309
    @katroyal6309 11 місяців тому +8

    How is prohibition not on this list? Prohibition directly gave rise to the prevalence and influence of mobs/crime families and all that went with. Prohibition made a supposed alcoholism problem into an actual alcoholism problem. Prohibition lead to many economic, social, and financial problems(both personal and in the countries economy) than it was supposed to solve. It overcrowded the court system and lead to corruption in all levels of the court/justice system. It would have to be near the top of bad decisions of all time.

    • @goldengrill769
      @goldengrill769 11 місяців тому +2

      Prohibition did nothing wrong, alcohol sucks, if they had just trusted in marijuana all would have been fine. It was still a mistake.

    • @katroyal6309
      @katroyal6309 11 місяців тому +2

      @Golden Grin your individual opinion that booze sucks is irrelevant to the wide reaching consequences prohibition had. A group of millions of people is like a single teenager in that if you tell them they absolutely can not do something, they will go out of their way to find the most creative ways to do it anyway- even if they weren't interested in it in the first place. In this case, that that crime went up, that alcoholism went up, that youth delinquency went up, that crime families were allowed to grow and prosper on the back of rum running and hooch production. Had prohibition not been put in place it is very possible that none of these things would have risen that dramatically. I agree with you about alcohol- I don't drink it myself but do believe that others have the right to choose to use it or not and that if you suddenly tell an entire nation of people they no longer have that choice, there are going to be issues.

  • @TheDavidlloydjones
    @TheDavidlloydjones 29 днів тому

    The genius of Winston Churchill: guy looks at the Alps, the Appenines, and the Hellespont, and calls it "the soft underbelly of Europe."

  • @davidprodigy5833
    @davidprodigy5833 11 місяців тому +3

    5:01 that's the way to lead 'em on to their demise

  • @SolCresta3405
    @SolCresta3405 11 місяців тому +3

    There’s a reason why Isoroku Yamamoto said that all Japan had done was awaken a sleeping giant and fill him a terrible resolve in regards to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

    • @scottcraig3816
      @scottcraig3816 11 місяців тому

      Oddly enough there is no proof that Yamamoto said that quote. He was a firm opponent of war with the US from the start. He was educated in the U.S., and knew of the logistics the US could bring to bear. He was prone to say that if they were to attack, it had to be one overwhelming attack, then negotiate a peace.

    • @SolCresta3405
      @SolCresta3405 11 місяців тому

      @@scottcraig3816 Either way, that quote hits all the right notes.

  • @danielsantiagourtado3430
    @danielsantiagourtado3430 11 місяців тому +14

    Love your lists!😊😊😊

  • @ClassicStreetIron
    @ClassicStreetIron 11 місяців тому +4

    Japan's problem was not bringing the US into the war, it was not finishing what it started at Pearl Harbor. If the 3rd and 4th waves would have not been held back, Japan would have driven the carriers to San Francisco and San Diego. There would have been no Midway or any opposition in the Pacific. The Aleutians would have been held, maybe even all they way into Anchorage. By the time the Navy could have been rebuilt Japan would have a stranglehold on the region. It might have even had a detrimental effect on the war in Europe as the Navy could have easily moved assets to the Pacific Theater.

    • @Grandizer8989
      @Grandizer8989 11 місяців тому

      Agree… if they hit those oil tanks in Pearl it’s hello San Francisco fleet instead of Pacific Fleet

    • @sheboyganshovel5920
      @sheboyganshovel5920 10 місяців тому +2

      One ought at least acknowledge the reason behind the Japanese decision to cancel the follow up attacks. They had lost the element of surprise, and the second wave took a lot more damage than the first while accomplishing less.

    • @codyhilton1750
      @codyhilton1750 2 місяці тому

      Whatever they tried to do afterwards, they would have lost the war.

  • @davidprodigy5833
    @davidprodigy5833 11 місяців тому +4

    Wow, this must of been tough to narrow down.

  • @audhdylan
    @audhdylan 11 місяців тому +4

    This entire video: "War."

    • @ewok40k
      @ewok40k 11 місяців тому +1

      Generally if two sides go to war and one is going to lose, one side must have done a grave error of judgement.

  • @alexandershelenko
    @alexandershelenko 11 місяців тому +7

    Guessed the top one. I would also add U.S. using nukes in Japan, British taxing the colonists and Rome not dealing with the barbarians properly. The Russian invasion of Ukraine should not be on the list since it hasn't ended yet, and we don't know if it was a bad decision. Some others should not be on this list because they don't merit as the worst decisions in history. I would also switch some up, #3 should be #2, while #2 should be way down, if at all on the list.

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому

      If course it was a bad decision to invade Ukraine. All of Russia's foreign reserves are gone - how do you think the reconstruction of Ukraine is gonna get financed? Also note, why were the foreign reserves accessible to be frozen? Because Vladolf Putler (who got his game plan from Adolf 1.0) didn't tell anyone what he was planning, since he thought two days is all it's gonna take because his military was bullshiting him for years about the state of IFV tires.

    • @jack-jm6nj
      @jack-jm6nj 11 місяців тому +1

      I think the nuke on Japan was a necessary evil. It saved millions of lives.

    • @randabe765
      @randabe765 11 місяців тому

      Agreed about the Ukraine war. I guess it needed to be added on here since it’s the current bash Russia moment.

    • @dougerrohmer
      @dougerrohmer 11 місяців тому

      @@randabe765 Russia has been for years slowly invading neighbours, messing with democratic elections and referendums, and getting away with it because people thought that there was more substance to Russia than there actually was. So it's a couple of decades of payback that Russia is getting right now. The biggest fallout of Putrid's dumb decision to invade is that Russia is no longer considered to have the 2nd strongest military in the world, but the third strongest in Ukraine.

  • @theatrebrad
    @theatrebrad 10 місяців тому +1

    One could argue IBM's lack of foresight when it came to allowing Microsoft to retain software control was the worst financial decision in all of human history.

  • @kylehogan2247
    @kylehogan2247 11 місяців тому

    I feel this can be a series for this channel :p

  • @ROCKONplaceboforever
    @ROCKONplaceboforever 10 місяців тому +7

    It crazy that some people nowadays haven't learned from their mistakes good list I hope we don't have to relive some of disasters 💔

  • @markross2124
    @markross2124 11 місяців тому +3

    How's about southern states succeeding, the attack on fort sumpter resulting in the USA's most brutal war killing 750,000

    • @nHans
      @nHans 11 місяців тому +2

      The secession and subsequent civil war were inevitable, given the huge insurmountable differences in the ideologies of two sides. If not at Fort Sumter, the war would have started someplace else. It cannot be attributed to one or two bad decisions, since half the country owned slaves and the other half was virulently opposed to the practice.

    • @r5t6y7u8
      @r5t6y7u8 11 місяців тому

      Scrolling through 300 comments, and yes indeed someone beat me to it.
      Maybe the US Civil War was inevitable, but it was a mismatch from the start. (The US outlasting the British in the Revolution was apples-to-oranges.)
      My vote for worst military decision in US history: George Meade allowing Lee's escape from Gettysburg. The War dragged on another two years, until the South was utterly destroyed. Think how successful the South - and USA - would be today, if the War had ended sooner.

  • @sandybrown728
    @sandybrown728 11 місяців тому +2

    The awesomeness returns

  • @JohnSmith-zw8vp
    @JohnSmith-zw8vp 11 місяців тому

    5:30 -- Well except for that one funny mustache guy...

  • @ashleighstratmann7783
    @ashleighstratmann7783 11 місяців тому +16

    I was actually thinking making Germany take the blame and pay for WWI should be on this list and sure enough it was number one

    • @RabidWolf1966
      @RabidWolf1966 11 місяців тому

      Nice way to spoil it for the rest of us

    • @ashleighstratmann7783
      @ashleighstratmann7783 11 місяців тому +1

      @@RabidWolf1966 Well it shouldn't be a surprise it's number one. It lead to Hitler rising in power thus the Holocaust and WWII.

    • @ashleighstratmann7783
      @ashleighstratmann7783 11 місяців тому

      Not to mention the treaty that ended world war one left Italy and Japan with little gain if any despite fighting for the allies which led to Italy and Japan's siding with Hitler in WWII.

    • @ashleighstratmann7783
      @ashleighstratmann7783 11 місяців тому

      I think I heard somewhere Italy was hoping to build the empire Rome lost when the Roman Empire fell with the treaty, which would sorta makes sense since the Ottoman Empire had fallen and if you look at the map of the Ottoman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire much of the Ottoman Empire covered what was the Eastern Roman Empire.

    • @ashleighstratmann7783
      @ashleighstratmann7783 11 місяців тому

      Too be fair, oversight of Italy and Japan's request in return of helping in the war was a hindsight. Not every country that fought with the allies in WWI got something in return and not all of those that got the same treatment as Italy and Japan join the axis powers in WWII. But there is no doubt that blaming Germany for WWI was the domino that fell that set off the chain of events leading to WWII and the holocaust. There were many that even predicted after the treaty was signed that the treaty wouldn't last and another World War was bound to happen. But even they couldn't predict something like the Holocaust be part of the devastation

  • @ZvilgantisKailis
    @ZvilgantisKailis 11 місяців тому +6

    I can sum it in one sentence - the worst decision in history was to start a civilization. That's it. Without civilization the species of people will be free roaming on earth like other animals. But then we will be left without art, science and other wonderful things.

    • @nHans
      @nHans 11 місяців тому +1

      It wasn't anybody's "decision" to start civilization, unlike the events in the video, where one person (or a small group of people) actively made decisions like "Let's attack Russia" (or USA or Iraq or Cuba or England or Genghis Khan ... you get the point).

  • @user-dj9nq8hu7b
    @user-dj9nq8hu7b 20 днів тому +1

    How about James Buchanon doing nothing to stop the Civil War and laying it in Lincoln's lap?

  • @Corsuwey
    @Corsuwey 11 місяців тому +1

    I seriously despise the glorification of Custard that I was taught when I was young. Alas, he was one of oh-so-many that doesn't deserve praise from those days in US history.

  • @skinnytim3543
    @skinnytim3543 11 місяців тому +3

    Well yeah I guess the battle of Little Bighorn should be there, there were 4 army corps going through different routes (if you look at the timeline). One of the corps is Custer's men and which he is seeking reinforcements from one of the other corps via a letter. You probably figured out what happened afterwards.

    • @Solaxe
      @Solaxe 11 місяців тому

      Are you seriously trying to convince us that in all of history, some small american battle which ultimately didn't change anything is one of the worst mistakes in human history? You americans are really self centered

  • @NFNate
    @NFNate 11 місяців тому +5

    As a Native American we are still smoking that Custer pack til this day 🔥

  • @DavidUSN
    @DavidUSN 11 місяців тому +2

    A good addition would have been the Iran-Contra scandle

    • @Friendship1nmillion
      @Friendship1nmillion 11 місяців тому

      🤷

    • @alwillk
      @alwillk 8 місяців тому

      Not really. Reagan was ineligible for re election and all those guys got pardoned by bush sr and some were in office under bush jr. Operation cyclone is the the fuck up you’re looking for.

  • @johnhockey87
    @johnhockey87 8 місяців тому

    One absolute military catastrophe was omitted: the 1842 winter retreat of the British army from Kabul in the first Afghan war. Pretty much every person killed by the Afghans.

  • @onanthebarbarian9883
    @onanthebarbarian9883 11 місяців тому +4

    The Treaty of Versailles wasn't really all that harsh as compared to other treaties drafted around the same time.

  • @SirsasthNigam.
    @SirsasthNigam. 11 місяців тому +6

    i didn't expected treaty of Versailles ' treatment of Germany to top but it is the worst decision

  • @jmsmith1767
    @jmsmith1767 21 день тому

    5:05 oh boy did I think this would be MUCH higher. Nap was a stubborn fella

  • @JABoyle3875
    @JABoyle3875 2 місяці тому

    Donner Party did SO have a guide! John Candy’s character in Wagons East!

  • @Aragorn7884
    @Aragorn7884 11 місяців тому +4

    *#1.* Believing in the commericals that tell you to "invest" in NFTs and Crypto?

  • @clarimax
    @clarimax 11 місяців тому +11

    This should be renamed to Top 20 moments he knew he fucked up in history

    • @Friendship1nmillion
      @Friendship1nmillion 11 місяців тому +2

      It's not mentioning Kanye West Or former President Bill Clinton when he had to confess his affair with Monica Luwinky to the world 🤣 . So NO , that's not a good discussion rename title option . ♑️✍️🇸🇯🇦🇺

  • @erictaylor5462
    @erictaylor5462 9 місяців тому

    3:30 Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me...
    "Some day no one will march there at all."

  • @peterking8586
    @peterking8586 8 місяців тому

    I was working at UKAEA Harwell at the time, we monitored the contamination from Chernobyl across Europe.

  • @jdailey01230
    @jdailey01230 11 місяців тому +6

    I actually agree with the top spot for once. The Treaty of Versailles was the worst abuse of power in all of modern history.

    • @ms3862
      @ms3862 11 місяців тому +1

      And they could have learned from history. Beating an enemy nation and then taxing them as reparations is something that has been done many times before and history has shown that if you tax them too heavily it will come back to bite you

    • @CrossOfBayonne
      @CrossOfBayonne 5 місяців тому

      The Allies at the time were so angered by Germany's actions that it inadvertently caused a tyrant to rise into power.

  • @tomikokasaka624
    @tomikokasaka624 11 місяців тому +5

    I just wanna say this right now, history class is just you learning about all the stupid sh$t humanity has done. And it's this reason why I hated, and almost failed, history class

    • @youngmannyboy1
      @youngmannyboy1 11 місяців тому +2

      shit’s so interesting yet sad man

    • @juqry6318
      @juqry6318 11 місяців тому +1

      politics is history my friend and history is to learn the mistakes of the past

  • @andrewcoble1834
    @andrewcoble1834 11 місяців тому +1

    Im glad to see that people finally acknowledge the harsh treatment of Germany at the end of WW1 as a mistake.

  • @ReynaReactsandReviews
    @ReynaReactsandReviews 9 місяців тому

    The background gives me goosebumps

  • @frvrf2k97
    @frvrf2k97 9 місяців тому

    this is goodshit. tnx for this

  • @danielferrieri7434
    @danielferrieri7434 11 місяців тому +17

    Top Ten Real World Events that Shouldn't have existed
    Example: COVID

    • @CTP909
      @CTP909 11 місяців тому +7

      Pandemics are pretty inevitable. Especially with increased globalization and significant populations ignorant to simple solutions established in past ones

    • @cba_2442
      @cba_2442 11 місяців тому

      It didn't exist? It was made up

  • @user-em6ie2be7x
    @user-em6ie2be7x 11 місяців тому +11

    Florida hands George W Bush The Presidency instead of Al Gore.

    • @BoundyMan
      @BoundyMan 11 місяців тому

      As a Trump supporter, I definitely agree. I voted for Gore because I knew he would be a little better than Bush. Though I know he wouldn’t have invaded Iraq, I’m not sure how he would have handled 9/11.

    • @davidmitchell6873
      @davidmitchell6873 11 місяців тому +1

      If you're a trump supporter that disqualifies you from talking to the adults.

    • @matthewjones2513
      @matthewjones2513 22 дні тому

      ​@davidmitchell6873 does it hurt your feelings when someones opinion differs from yours? Rhetorical question. The fact you had too insult the person speaks volumes about you.

  • @THE_HMRC
    @THE_HMRC Місяць тому

    You REALLY watered down what Ghangis Khan did to that empire after he was angered....'Never mess with a mongol' is the greatest understatement in history when talking about the Great Khan.

  • @YGO_BERRY
    @YGO_BERRY 11 місяців тому

    You should do the top 10 worst deaths in history