Top 10 Worst Decisions in History

The year is 1963. The U.S. is in the midst of a brutal war in Vietnam and their President has just been assassinated. In steps Lyndon B. Johnson who just two hours after the Kennedy assassination, assumes office. LBJ promptly takes the old adage “if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself” and applies it to the Vietnam war, micromanaging it and regularly ignoring advice from military advisors. It wasn’t until Nixon became leader of the free world that those best suited for the job were handed the reins, effectively loosening the President’s grip on the fight in Vietnam.

When the Nazi Party came to power in Germany, the war machine once again began to chug to life. This made the people of Europe nervous, especially France, who weren’t anxious to fight their expansionist neighbors again. Hoping to deter a German invasion and citing trench warfare from the previous World War, the French built a state of the art defensive line. However it did not extend to the Low Countries, the Ardennes Forest being particularly unfortified, and sure enough the Nazis took advantage of this, bypassing their lines easily and taking France. Though it might seem like a laughable oversight in retrospect, this error was no joke at the time.

Murdering millions of your own people is ALWAYS a bad idea, but that’s just what happened in China during the early-mid 20th century. In an attempt to rapidly industrialize the nation, the communist leaders tried to institute a demand for crops that the people couldn’t meet. The resulting famine caused deaths around the country. However, famine was not the only cause of death during the Great Leap - many reports of torture, beatings and suicides have surfaced throughout the years. An exact death toll is nigh impossible to nail down, but it’s been estimated anywhere between 23 and 55 million people - and no amount of progress is worth such a steep cost.

The French can’t seem to catch a break on this list. The Little Corporal’s Grande Armée of 680,000 soldiers strolled into Russia hoping for a quick and easy defeat, only to find the Russian forces to be constantly retreating. Using what is known as a scorched earth tactic, the Russians would burn down villages so that the pursuing French army would have no supplies to feed their vast numbers. Eventually, winter came and the French forces were subject to starvation, hypothermia and eventually, defeat. It was a harsh lesson, but one that every military leader has since taken to heart - never underestimate the environmental factors when fighting on enemy soil.

Now it’s time for the Russians (or in this case, the Soviets) to take a beating, as the 1979 invasion of this middle eastern country was decidedly NOT a win for them. Wanting to protect Communist interests in the country, the Soviets sent over 100,000 soldiers after the assassination of the President of the Afghanistan Communist Party. However, due to the alien nature of the communist way of life, an Afghani and Muslim resistance rose up with monetary aid from a certain Western, Capitalist arch enemy of the Soviets. The ensuing conflict would result in the death of almost 15,000 Soviet soldiers, a Soviet withdrawal, and a continued Civil War in the country.

Once again we travel to the middle east, but this time it’s some devotees of Capitalism that would made the mistake. The mission was known as Ajax in the US and Operation Boot in the UK, but the principles were the same- protect Western oil interests in Iran. How? By overthrowing the democratically elected Prime Minister and installing a monarch more sympathetic to the US’ and the UK’s demands. That’s exactly what they did- the CIA even hired local mobsters to incite riots. What followed was the death and subjugation of many of the Iranian people, and a period of unrest that would eventually lead to the Iranian revolution of 1979.

There is a quote that reads: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and that’s exactly what the Nazis did in 1941. Despite studying Napoleon’s first invasion of Russia as reference, the Nazis’ attempted invasion of the Soviet Union resulted in a catastrophic loss of life, and, in the eyes of many, was the downfall of the Third Reich. Just like Napoleon, they planned on achieving a swift victory that never came. Operation Barbarossa, as it would come to be known, lasted over 5 months, and resulted in over 5 million deaths.

Whether you believe it was motivated by weapons of mass destruction, the 9/11 attacks, or a need for oil, we can all agree that this 2003 attack on the middle east was divisive for the American people, and devastating for the Iraqi. It kicked off a costly 8+ year Iraq war, which, rather than fighting terrorism, arguably fostered it, most notably giving rise to ISIS. On the homefront, it turned America into a nation divided, with one half of the population supporting the war, and the other half vehemently against it. In other words… some were a little bit country and some were a little bit rock n’ roll. Shout out to South Park fans.

Many angered the Great Khan during his reign over the Mongol Empire, but none so spectacularly as Ala ad-Din Muhammad II, Shah of the Muslim Khwarezmian Empire. The result of infuriating the Khan meant the destruction of Ala ad-Din’s empire, but keep in mind that didn’t have to be the case. Genghis wanted peace with the Shah, saying "I am master of the lands of the rising sun while you rule those of the setting sun. Let us conclude a firm treaty of friendship and peace”. The Shah refused, killing some Mongolian envoys. The result was, as previously stated, less than favorable for the Shah. It just goes to show- never mess with a mongol.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Invasion of Gallipoli (Winston Churchill)


Donner Party "Shortcut"

The Treaty of Versailles. The moment that would define the next half of the 20th century. The moment that would lead to the rise of fascism, the Nazis and eventually the Holocaust. After a long and brutal World War I, the victorious Allies were tasked with punishing the losers and punish them they did. The most important factor of the treaty was that Germany had to take total and complete blame for the war, which meant they had to disarm and pay reparations to all the affected countries. This would virtually bankrupt the European country and set the stage for a very sinister time in human history.