A History Of Military 'Friendly Fire' | Who's Sorry | Timeline 

"I can't understand it, I left a thousand men there” Lord Chelmsford, on hearing that Isandlwana camp had been overrun. However they the British were strung out and disorganised when the battle started, and outnumbered 10-1.

General Giap showed one of the rarest of talents in a commander: the ability to change his plan in the face of changing events.

“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” - Georg Hegel Thank you for a great documentary.

I worked for a man , that was a captian in marines in ww2 he was put in charge of Japanese pows , he said their colonel came to me and saluted me , I said no you out rank me I salute you , he said that colon took charge of his men and never gave me any trouble .. respect

"Mistakes were made," said the incompetent commander after coming home without his army.

What I'm surprised isn't mentioned in the first part of this documentary is that just one year after Isandlwana, the British Army made the same mistake - that of seriously underestimating the enemy - in the neighbouring Transvaal Republic, in the First Anglo-Boer War. From the column which entered at Bronkhorstspruit and was wiped out to the final defeat at Majuba Hill after which Britain capitulated, this war was a series of defeats. The enemy were considered a ragtag bunch of farmers and indeed they didn't even have a standing army, yet defeated the most powerful Empire at the time.

"The lion or tiger may be more powerful, but a wolf does not perform in a circus."

So glad for the commentary. The Zulus won. They had strategy, knowlegde of the terrain and the manpower to overwhelm the British. Granted the commander was an arrogant idiot, but the Zulu generals do not get enough credit for this victory. It's less humiliating to say we lost the battle instead stating facts: the "savages" with spears trounced the men with guns.

Speaking as a Zulu person I think we need to remember this and the Afrikaans people's tenacity in the face of the most powerful empire in modern history.

The electro-mechanical rubber puppet of Percival is going to give me nightmares for the rest of my life.

You know the situation is dire when they have to cancel the dance parties at the Raffles Hotel.

I wanted to point out at Dien Bien Phu, the French have the reason for their confidence. It was the battle of Na San a year earlier when Giap’s army attack a French stronghold and suffer over 4000 losses, the French in that battle was able to be supply by air and eventually evacuated by the air route. They think they could remake Na San and bloodied Vietnamese forces. But Giap learned from Na San as well. He lost his trust in his Chinese advisors after he applied their tactic in Na San. He choose to do his own way by carefully prepare first with deploying his artillery division. He even postponed the attack because he got intel that the French know the attack date. During the opening days of the battle, Vietnamese forces attack rapidly. We enjoy success but suffer heavy losses as well. Thats why Giap abandoned a quick victory and use trench warfare instead. My Grandfather was there at Dien Bien Phu, he was one of many truck driver that maintains Vietnamese supply line. It was feat by itself, my grandfather said. His truck could not travel well due to bad road so they have a depot where he would unload his cargo and hundreds of cargo hauling bicycles will bring supplies to the front line. The depot was the target for French to find and destroy. My grandfather also have several close call when French scout planes fry above his head, trying to find the depot exact location.

Commander said to his troops, "remember the enemy don't know our plan, they may not do as we expect".

"Never underestimate your enemy, Never overestimate yourself."

These military mistakes are something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I’m 56 and understand how fortunate I am to have never had to fight in a war. But I feel bad for the soldiers on both sides who volunteer and then have to tolerate a lieutenant who is a complete idiot.

When I went to Somalia in 92/93 it was the same briefings. How we were a Superior fighting force with advanced communications and training.

"The British are lions led by donkeys" is a remark stated by General Wilhelm Ludendorff, but I certainly sometimes believe that that remark is correct for the entire mankind.

"This was chasing the burglars out". Perfect !

I like this phrase. " We were the unwilling, led by the unqualified, fighting the impossible for the ungrateful". This sums up the morale of the defeated soldiers.

At Crossbarry Ireland , , Percival with 1,200 men failed to encircle a 155 man I R A flying column. From 7 directions. 154 men broke the encirclement inflicting 40 British dead. And escaped. That was 1919. I think maybe that shook his confidence

The 1st Cavalry Division quickly learned that the PAVN were one of the best guerrilla armies in history. We were out of our element concerning the weather and the terrain. Plus Westmoreland wanted large unit operations doing find, fix and destroy and hammer and anvil tactics. Everyone has a plan that will not work

Many a fine military career has been ruined by a war.

When the enemy has French cheese, you know it's over.

"Good soldiers are defined by what they can endure, not by what they can inflict." -Gregory David Roberts.

The Art Of War.....Do not underestimate your enemy.

As one of my (UK) university tutors once said in a lecture: "Military incompetence is something of a tradition in this country".

I finally understand why these battles were lost. Thank you! This is a great resource.

This is also what is happening in England and in several other countries today. They do not see that the enemy is among them.

As the Zulu nation, we are proud of the achievements of our ancestors in Isandlwana.

My brother was an RCAF officer flying supply missions in the first Gulf War. They were told it was going to be a terrible fight, that the enemy was strong and they should expect 20% casualties in their unit (a transport unit operating primarily in the rear). They had zero casualties. Perhaps this is a better way to prepare your forces for a conflict.

Interesting episode. I think you can further refine "underestimating" the opponent by at least 2 key events in each of these battles. First, the enemy used a tactic that was largely unexpected. In these battles, the vanquished (the British and French units in these examples) expected their opponent to deploy and fight a certain way, and when that did not occur, their initial strategy for battle quickly became a liability. At Dien Bien Phu, the Viet Minh went through extraordinary efforts to bring artillery, equipment and troops up to the mountains to encircle the French. No one at the time thought such a colossal effort was likely or even possible, but the Vietnamese did it. Then the VM fought ferociously, which is the next point. Secondly, in each of the battles, the opposing forces all showed a particularly aggressive and dedicated attack. They pushed and kept pushing the fight despite significant casualties on their side. That level of perseverance was also surely a factor in their success, though they were usually costly victories. It's more of an editorial as to how much arrogance and incompetence plays a role, though I imagine it did to some degree. Each of the defeated militaries had other victories both before and after these battles. Anyone having been in the military should always know that the enemy "has a vote" too, and they are doing their best to work around their opponent's defenses. And always, there are simple mistakes, errors, and a degree of chance at play. In hindsight the tactics might be judged by how it turned out: you lose, it's arrogance, but if you win it's boldness and audacity.

This reminds me of Benjamin Franklin's warning to General Braddock about the Indians who were "dexterous" at "laying ambuscades." Braddock made some disparaging comparisons between the "raw colonial militia" and his majesty's regular troops, and later got killed in a French and Indian ambush, the same one George Washington miraculously survived.

Thanks. These are awesome.

"No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy" Moltke

Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!

Very well done, thanks for sharing!

22:45 When that waxwork of Lt. Gen. Percival turned its head, I nearly crapped in my pants!

General Giap is one of the top 5 Generals of all time. His understanding of PR really did the Americans in. A brilliant Guerilla campaign allowed his small forces to last decades and made any invader pay in so much blood they were sent packing! Especially the U.S.

Outstanding work and information

Really really cool video. Thanks for posting.

Anyone thinking about joining the military should see this, and consider much more than this even, the dark acts high up in not only command but political circles that use soldiers lives as expendable pawns for no rational reason or necessity at all.

There is a difference of ergency between the soldier who is ordered to fight thousands of miles away from his home and the soldier who is fighting for his home.

Is always nice see General Giap in a documentary.

One of the best documentaries and one of kind i have seen on topic.

"They had a picnic attitude towards the whole thing..." Savage 😂😂😂

General Percival (Singapore) was the commander in Bandon county Cork Ireland during the Irish war of independence He proved himself to be a savagely brutal and incompetent commander in 1920 - it should come as no surprise that chickens came home to roost 2 decades later... the Irish volunteers did not fight according to Percival’s plans and they were defeated. He learned little and made the same mistakes with the Japanese...

Thank u for this wonderful video

Great topic of the day!!!!! Thanks ya kidly.

"The greatest lesson of history is that no one learns anything from history." How can you depend so much on air power without being cognisant of the fact that you must be able to guarantee places for the planes to land?

I never looked at my bicycle the same way ever again

Well done and quite informative.

Defeat and under estimation go hand in hand. Sometimes it's ignorance that leads to contempt. What a lesson I have learnt today.

For Oh so many 2nd and 1st Lieutenants in Vietnam that screamed out to their Troops "CHARGE!!" It was the last words they ever said Because nobody was going to obey a suicidal order and die going into "The Valley Of Death".

General Giap at Dien Bien Phu.. I love the Vietnamese people. Great country.

Great lessons on here and we may need to draw upon it within our lifetimes. Kia Kaha

Learned alot Well worth watching Never Underestimate your enemy Learn from these mistakes 🤺🤺🤺

The Vietnamese are a very clever and resourceful people. Their victory over the French was simply stunning!

This is right out of Sun Tzu's "Art of War" chapter lll Strategic Attack Know your Enemies and know yourself.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn also known as Custer's Last Stand was in 1876. The Battle of Isandlwana between the British and the Zulu was in 1879. In only 3 years people forgot the lessons learned or didn't bother to keep up on warfare around the world nor learned from it.

*” If you underestimate the enemy and overestimate yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles..”* -Sun Tzfool

Examples of great British officer leadership. Especially the hereditary generals.

Singapore - a case of fortifying your front door, but forgot to build fence on your back yard.

Hi, Zulu here. We learnt about this in history. The battle of Isandlwana was quite damning for the imperial army. The Boers (Dutch immigrants who'd settled South Africa in the 1650's) warned Lord Chelmsford but their words fell on arrogant deaf ears, I mean the hubris coming from the british was palpable.

I cannot but admire the great General Giap. He is the kind of military leader all soldiers from any army would proudly fight for.

i went to the war museums in singapore. posted on the walls were conversations churchill said 3 weeks before the invasion, that there was no need to worry as singapore was safe as houses. japans victory was a close run thing though. they were literally down to 30 mins of ammo. percival by surrendering so quickly also ensured there were plenty of able bodied soldiers fit for work on the burma railway! while i was there i also spotted plenty of japanese tourists celebrating a great historic victory.

Fascinating. As a French person, I knew about Dien Bien Phu when we were shown a documentary at school. Those Vietnamese soldiers and strategists were amazing.

Percival also underestimated the Irish when he was CO of the essex regiment who were sent to cork during the war of independence.

Well narrated and very interesting!!!

The Zulu's had a military strategy that was as good as the British infantry. The Zulus had spears and no guns/horses, but they could run all day, and weren't transporting heavy guns. They were taught how to throw the spear long distance, and get close enough to use their short spear like a big knife. Shaka had developed a close-quarters strike method that was almost identical to that of the Spartans. They were also better dressed for the weather. Sorry folks, but the Zulus were as good as the British.

That wasn't the 1st time the British underestimated an enemy. We celebrate Independence Day because of it👍

I enjoyed this documentary. The aesthetics of "old" documentaries is much, much better then what is made today.

Powerful report-

Lt. Gorman was a disaster of a leader and greatly underestimated the aliens in LV-426 Luckily Ellen Ripley was able to save Newt and Cpl. Hicks.

The story of Singapore just adds more credence to rumor of Winston Churchill's special relationship with many of the generals. Such as the generals in North Africa that were removed and replaced for a hold lot less. How General Montgomery survived after the Normandy episode and later the market Garden episode tends to make one think they may be truth to those rumors.

General Giap is just totally unique. He is one of the greatest military minds of all time.

In scale it was like 20 Little Big Horn's at "Custers Last Stand" AMAIZING

are those wax sculptures? Oh god, they're terrifying!

The video mentions in passing a "running out of ammo" and the subsequent faltering of fire by the British troops at Ishandlwana which allowed the Zulus to overrun that flank. The fact is they were becoming short on ammo and had sent runners back to the main camp to collect more ammo. A little known fact is the Quartermaster's wagon was the store for ammo and this was packed in sturdy reuseable wooden boxes, the lid secured with numerous wood-screws. Incredibly no screwdriver could be found and the Quartermaster, hidebound by King's Regulations, a real "company" man obviously, refused to let troops smash open the boxes or even to pry loose the lids which would cause damage to property for which he would be held responsible! This was sorted out after a significant delay. Some analysts attribute the initial penetration through the defence by the Zulus and ultimately the final defeat partially to this delay. Also the video omits one very important matter. The Zulus were able to get very close to the defenders by creeping along deep "dongas" (natural water-eroded deep fissures in the ground) and to take the defenders by surprise from close in. Much like the Vietnamese at Dien Ben Phu except there was no digging needed! Fact is that the video-makers have started with their theory of racism and simply expanded on that without taking account of many relevant and significant issues.

Superb documentary ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the segment on the unexpectedly quick movement of the Japanese troops down the Malaya peninsula, the documentary neglected to recount the massive use of the common bicycle by the soldiers of the armies of Japan in moving in force through the jungles. Caught the tea sipping British military brass completely by surprise!

Decimated is losing one-tenth of your forces. The hint is in 'Deci'. It was a punishment during the Roman era. To punish a large group of men (you don't want to completely destroy your forces) 10 men would draw straws and the shortest drawn would be beaten to death by the other 9.

Once again, French leadership fails spectacularly. They lost in June 1940 because they took a 1918 army into 1940. Then, they lost Dien Bien Phu because they failed to remember the lessons of 1918.

I never underestimate anyone. I just know what matters and what doesn't matter...

Correction: America NEVER lost a battle in Vietnam, the American politicians lost the war!

I'd love to see this series cover the US wars against Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. But since those responsible aren't safely dead it could ruffle some feathers.

I can still hear the incredulous superiority in many a voice.

Every great military force to have ever existed has, at one point or another, and to its detriment, underestimated the capabilities of its adversaries. Me, personally, as a martial artist..i always just assume from the start that my opponent knows everything that I know, and is at the very least as skilled and as competent as I am.

01:35 "The British were anxious to DEVELOP southern Africa, the Zulus were in the way." Damn, that's some original take on colonialism right there. Seems even the documentary producers have learnt nothing about undermining others.

I guess the Zulu general "read" Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR... "Know your enemy and Know Yourself and in a hundred battle you'll have Victory"...and so many Chapters in its book that the English General was missing.

When it came to the defence of Singapore, Percival did not underestimate the strength of the Japanese, he OVERestimated their strength. He didn't know they had less than half the number of troops he had, and that they were almost out of supplies.

Well done. Thank you. Consider doing a video about the Scottish highland rifle group that met the large Russian Calvary contingent. Oxford book of military antidotes

Excellent food for thought

As we say in the UK - never trust someone with the title 'lord' before their name.

I love France and Napoleonic war. You could see many elders in Viet Nam having books about Napoleon and that era on their book shelves. It is quiet ironic how Giap used canons supremacy to win the French army and transported it through the path which is considered "impossible to go through" like how Napoleon transported canons through the Alps.

"I don't want a damn Dien Bien Phu". Lyndon B. Johnson.

This is a good documentary.

Very recommendable! Never underestimate the enemy!

In the months after Isandhlwana, the Zulus failed to defeat the other British columns, which deployed themselves properly at Kambula and Eshowe. In July of that same year, Chelmsford advanced on the Zulu capital, Ulundi. When attacked in the open, he formed his troops into square and decisively defeated a Zulu army of 20,000. There’s no disputing the high courage, discipline, and tenacity of the Zulu warriors, but armed only with short spears and oxhide shields, they never had any realistic prospect of final victory.

During the Vietnam conflict, the enemy that the Americans underestimated, were the ones in Washington DC.

Very well made