Best military units of all time

[mwilding]

Here's a vote for the Chindits who operated well behind enemy lines in Burma in 1943-44

 

[JustAddWater]

You all have recognized some outstanding military units. I have to agree that the Spatans at Themopylae vs Xerxes' Immortals was a most impressive stand and pivotal point in history. Some more pivitol battles:
Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours

Battle of Liegnitz and Vienna (1241); Teutonics, Templars, Germans, and Poles vs the Mongols.

D-Day

 

[wstein]

Lets see, there is Torbuk, Guadualcanal and Midway in 1942, D-Day in 1944, Iwo Jima in 1945, Chosin in 1951, Hue and Khe San in 1969. These kinda spring out for recent history. I would have to do a little research to quote some others further back in history.

Paul

 

[Welsh_Dive_Pro]

You have all mentioned armies, navies, and air forces throughout history who are all mentioned because of some major feat of battle. My vote goes for no particular battalion or regiment, but to all those who were interned in prisoner of war camps who endured incredible torture, deprivation, starvation, slavery etc etc... and still had the courage and mental, if not physical, strength to survive. Many of these people had to endure these conditions not for days or weeks or months but for years. So here's to them.

If i had to pick any particular battle then I would go for the defence of Rourke's Drift in South Africa.

Biggest ***** up of a battle/war has to be Vietnam, not just because the Americans were whupped by a load of farmers, but because the American government had the gall to go into Vietnam in the first place.

 

[mofosaurus]

I often wonder about D-Day

Stalin pushed for a second front but had the allies not invaded europe the red army would have taken control of all of continental Europe.

I believe Roosevelt and Churchill both knew this and were compelled to invade in preperation for the coming confrontation with the Stalin

In a sense D-day was irrelavent for world war II because the Germans had insufficient oil resources and would have been defeated by the Red army eventually

Vietnam: American forces never lost a battle in Vietnam but you can't make the Vietnamese want to have a democracy. It was the S. Vietnamese battle to fight but they didn't have the stomach to for it. MAYBE George Bush Jr. should have kept this in mind.

 

[dbulmer]

Biggest disaster was the British loss of Singapore thru' underestimating the enemy.
2nd biggest disaster was the loss of the American colonies to terrorism.
3rd biggest disaster was setting foot in Australia coz they've been beating us ever since except in Rugby Union (for once )

For you Yanks, Operation DesertStorm was a marvellous achievement as was the performance of the American Pacific Fleet in WW2 particularly the subs.

Personally the best unit ever for a short time was the German U-boot fleet. I also fink the Woman legions were pwitty good.

 

[6Gill]

I often wonder about D-Day

Stalin pushed for a second front but had the allies not invaded europe the red army would have taken control of all of continental Europe.

I believe Roosevelt and Churchill both knew this and were compelled to invade in preperation for the coming confrontation with the Stalin

In a sense D-day was irrelavent for world war II because the Germans had insufficient oil resources and would have been defeated by the Red army eventually

Vietnam: American forces never lost a battle in Vietnam but you can't make the Vietnamese want to have a democracy. It was the S. Vietnamese battle to fight but they didn't have the stomach to for it. MAYBE George Bush Jr. should have kept this in mind.

Well, I think you are way off course here! The USSR could not have made it without the invasion of Europe by the Allies. Had the Germans not been fighting in France, and other fronts they could have used those resources to fight the USSR. "Irrelavent?" Indeed! I think that you should study history a little closer, perhaps talk to a few Veterans who parachuted and or landed onto the beaches of Normandy! Were you even born before the invasion or WWII?

Although you never mentioned it, due to the invasion, there is also the capture of the Buzz bomb, V-2 Rocket sites and the production facilities of the German jet aircraft program. The V-2 and Buzz bombs were really doing a lot of damage to the UK. The V-2 program could have led to a ballistic missle that could have reached the USA. Had the jet aircraft program continued it could have led to air superiorty for the germans.

The worse thing about your "history" is the fact that if the USSR would have taken all of the European Continent, France Germany, etc. think of what the "Cold War" would have been like and what might have happened.

As for Vietnam, you are right! The US never really lost a battle, the war was lost because of the politicians, peaceniks here in the good old USA! Had our military been able to fight to win the war it would have been won!

I fail to see why you made the comments about our President, and Vietnam, as I see no connection here. I think that he is doing a good job, with what he has to fight the war with the terrorist's around the world.

 

[rjens]

Team Manhatten Project, two planes, two bombs -- game over -- no invasion needed, "cold peace" for 50+ years...

Just a thought, not all warriors fight in the trenches. Actually, I had to come back and edit this as I don't really believe this is the best military unit of all time, but as I read this thread this group came to mind. Their accomplishment was a turning point (for better or worse) not only in WWII but also in warfare and politics period.

RJ

 

[6Gill]

The "best" depends on what you are trying to define as the best.

Hostage rescue - SAS (Delta blew it outside Tehran)

I see a lot of references to elite units, etc. throughout history. In one message, a person mentions the failure of Delta in the Iranian desert. Yes, this mission failed, because of transport problems, beyond the control of the Delta unit and it's commander. We did learn from this tragic event, in the Special Operations community though. Many things have changed since then, particularly in the transport units both Army and Air Force. I think that this person should also consider the fact that the Delta unit has performed many successful missions and operations that he or you will never hear about and continues to do so every day. This is true of the whole Special Operations community which consists of the Delta Force, Rangers, SEALs as well as Special Army Aviation units and Air Force Special Operation units. Recently the Marine Special Operation units (Recon) have been added to the Special Operation Command.

Another such raid that Technically failed, was conducted by the US Army's Special Forces "Green Berets." This was the Son Tay POW Camp raid, conducted in North Vietnam during the war there. The POWs had been moved and as a result none were rescued, however; many "foreign" SAM missile technicians were killed during the raid. The raid was planned and executed flawlessly by a very brave bunch of volunteer Special Forces soldiers under the command of COL. "Bull" Simons. Although no POWs were rescued, ask a former Vietnam era POW what effect the raid had on their life in captivity.

I will not even get in to Special Forces led SOG operations conducted in Laos, Cambodia, North & South Vietnam. Some of these "operations" are still classified.

I would also mention some of the heroes of the "Cold War" that you might not have heard about, as much of it is still classified. Top in this group, are the US Navy's Submarine force and its assigned SEAL or Navy divers. (How about tapping a USSR underwater communication cable, in their waters.) The many reconnaissance flights by the Air Force, Navy and CIA during the span of the cold war and continuing even today in many parts of the world, especially around Korea, China. Many have given their lives in this endeavor, especially in the cold war.

As for American elite units and/or brave acts in WW II there are so many that no doubt forget to mention some, however; I will try:

Defenders of Wake Island (Marines)
Defenders of Battan, PI (All Services)
Battan Death March PI (All services)
Underwater Demolition Teams (US Navy)
Torpedo Sqd 8 (One surviver- US Navy)
US Army's Special Service Force Division (US Army/Canadian)
US Army Ranger Battalions (especially the 2nd Bn's climbing of the Cliff at Pont De Hoch)
US Army's Alamo Scouts (Pacific theater)
US Army's Merrial's Marauders (Burma)
US Army's 101st Airborne (Normandy/Battle of Bastone)
US Army's 82nd Airborne (Normandy/Many other Battles)
US Army's 11th Airborne (Pacific, Especially the jump on the "Rock"
US Marine Parachute Unit (Pacific)
US Marine Raiders Unit (Pacific)
US Navy Submarine Service (Pacific)

One foreign hostage rescue unit not mentioned also has had some great operations is Germany's GS G9.

 

[glbirch]

Ok, how about...

Royal Nova Scotia Highlanders
The Graf Spree
Buffalo Soldiers of the 516th
Lord Strathcona's Horse
Newfoundland Highlanders
British Columbia Dragoons

WreckWriter, I have to say that IMO it's way too easy to talk about military blunders and poor descisions with the 20/20 vision of history. Admitadely there are some classic blunders and ego problems that lead to stupid descisions, but often you make the call based on the incomplete information you have and you live or die with the results.