Military incompetence is the failure of military organizations to perform effectively, a phenomenon that analysts have attributed both to the shortcomings of individual commanders and to deficiencies in institutional culture. Scholarship on the subject has moved away from explaining failure through individual stupidity and toward analyzing the psychological and organizational conditions that produce it.

Causes

In On the Psychology of Military Incompetence (1976), the psychologist Norman F. Dixon argued that serious military failures frequently arise not from a commander's lack of intelligence but from personality traits associated with authoritarianism, including an absence of intellectual curiosity, a dislike of new ideas, and a self-assurance that hampers foresight. The historian David G. Chandler describes Ulm as among the most complete of Napoleon's victories, won principally through maneuver rather than battle.

Braxton Bragg

The Confederate general Braxton Bragg became, in the words of his biographer Earl J. Hess, the "chief whipping boy of the Confederacy", acquiring a durable reputation for incompetence and serving as a scapegoat for Southern defeats. James M. McPherson's reference to "the bumblers like Bragg and Pemberton and Hood who lost the West" sums up the judgment of many modern historians. Bragg's shortcomings as an army commander included his unimaginative tactics, mostly his reliance on frontal assault (such as the Hornet's Nest at Shiloh, Breckinridge's assault at Stones River, and numerous instances at Chickamauga), and his lack of post-battle follow-up that turned tactical victories or draws into strategic disappointments (Perryville and Chickamauga). His sour disposition, a penchant for blaming others for defeat, and poor interpersonal skills undoubtedly caused him to be criticized more directly than many of his unsuccessful contemporaries. Peter Cozzens wrote about his relationship with subordinates:

One private, Sam Watkins, who later became a professional writer, said in his memoirs that "None of Bragg's men soldiers ever loved him. They had no faith in his ability as a general. He was looked upon as a merciless tyrant ... He loved to crush the spirit of the men." Historian Ty Seidule says that Bragg's battles often ended in defeat because of his insistence on direct frontal assaults and his "uncanny ability to turn minor wins and losses into strategic defeats."

Effects on military forces

Modern research has examined how poor or abusive command affects military organizations. After the Secretary of the Army asked in 2003 how the service identified destructive leaders, a study at the United States Army War College led by George E. Reed and R. Craig Bullis found that the behavior the Army labels toxic leadership was both present and damaging. Reported effects include lower individual and unit morale, degraded communication, heightened stress, organizational cynicism, and a reduced willingness among subordinates to exert discretionary effort.

See also

  • List of military disasters

References

Further reading

  • (also Pimlico, 1994 )
  • McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. .
  • Cozzens, Peter. No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. .
  • Woodworth, Steven E. Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1990. .