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Historical Blunders

Can you identify these famous blunders from history?
One of these are apocryphal
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: July 9, 2020
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First submittedApril 4, 2013
Times taken72,033
Average score80.0%
Rating4.21
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Blunder
Year
Answer
Germany launches Operation Barbarossa, an invasion of this country
1941
Soviet Union
Japan launches a sneak attack on this naval base
1941
Pearl Harbor
The U.S. becomes entangled in this conflict
1965–1973
Vietnam War
The captain of this ship ignores warnings of icebergs
1912
RMS Titanic
This fleet is sent to invade England, but loses many ships
without even attempting to land
1588
Spanish Armada
Political operatives in the Nixon administration break into Democratic Party
headquarters at this office complex
1972
Watergate Hotel
General Pickett leads the Confederate Army into a suicidal charge at this battle
1863
Gettysburg
This cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaclava ends with heavy casualties
1854
Charge of the
Light Brigade
European powers try to appease Hitler by allowing Germany
to annex parts of this country
1938
Czechoslovakia
The Aztec emperor Moctezuma allows this conquistador to enter his capital city
1520
Hernán Cortés
Allied troops attempt to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in this country
1915
Ottoman Empire
The CIA botches an invasion at the Bay of Pigs in this country
1961
Cuba
This military leader decides to invade Russia
1812
Napoleon
The Soviet Union invades this country
1979
Afghanistan
This nuclear power plant melts down due to a botched safety test
1986
Chernobyl
Blockbuster turns down an opportunity to purchase this fledgling
video service for $50 million
2000
Netflix
This space shuttle explodes due to faulty O-rings
1986
Challenger
Russia sells this territory to the U.S. for just 2 cents an acre
1867
Alaska
This war begins after Franz Ferdinand's driver makes a wrong turn
1914
World War One
Citizens of this city allow a hollow Greek horse inside their walls
?
Troy
Ozchris
+3
Level 33
May 18, 2013
There's actually some pretty good evidence that Hisarlik... the site generally recognised as Troy was destroyed by Greeks at about the 'right' time. Even the wooden horse may have some basis in fact. The thinking is that it was an ancient siege weapon, used to breach the city's walls.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
May 20, 2013
There are something like 8 or 10 different ancient cities stacked one on top of other there. Some of the evidence potentially confirms parts of the Iliad and other evidence contradicts it- though all in all the story seems far more likely than the story of Genesis, and is probably at least based in part on *something* that happened.
Ozchris
+17
Level 33
Jun 6, 2013
I don't think you're going to out Troy me Kal... I did this at uni. Troy 7a is most widely recognised as being the 'right' Troy. And there is independent evidence of the city being destroyed by Greeks at about the right time from ancient Assyrian texts. So it's not a slamdunk cert... but pretty close to it. As to Helen and Achilles and all that... poetic licence most likely.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Sep 6, 2017
Is it a competition? If so, I visited the place. And I also attended university. So...
Coldyham
+14
Level 62
Aug 12, 2020
I've never blocked anyone who wasn't a bot or spammer before, but if Jetpunk allowed, I would like to not see kalbahamut's comments again. They seem to inevitably bring down the tone of the conversation and make my day ever so slightly less enjoyable each time I see one.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Aug 12, 2020
I've been leaving comments since 2012 so they're all over the place now. Sorry if talk about the ruins of Troy is upsetting to you, I can see how that could be triggering and affect someone's day.
kalbahamut
+6
Level 82
Aug 12, 2020
And, ham, for what it's worth, I've been encouraging QuizMaster to implement some kind of block feature for years now, too. He finally did, but the feature so far only makes it so the blocked person cannot comment on the quizzes that you yourself authored. It does not make it so their comments are invisible to you or vice versa everywhere on the site.

I know that there are many people here who enjoy reading the comments I've posted. Quite a few have come forward to tell me so. But I also know that there are many who, for whatever reason, find the facts and/or opinions that I share to be upsetting some how. And these people often end up trolling me all over the site posting personal attacks or disagreeing just to be disagreeable. And, honestly, that gives me no pleasure at all. I'm not here to upset anyone. I'm not out to attack Christians or Europeans or Muslims or Canadians or Libs or Republicans any other group of people aside from the Belgians who clearly deserve it.

kalbahamut
+7
Level 82
Aug 12, 2020
I come to the comments section because I enjoy the exchange of ideas. I enjoy the witty banter and sometimes colorful back-and-forth with other similarly intelligent people. I like reading about other peoples' experiences and stories and sharing my own. I'm not here to engage in flame wars or to ruin anyone's day. I post to make people laugh, or to make them think, or to encourage them to share their own perspectives. That's all. So if my words were truly upsetting to someone, I would much prefer that they have the ability to not see them if they wish. Would be fine with me.

But until a more robust block feature is pushed out, why don't you just stop reading my comments? That's a fair compromise, right? And then you won't have to tell everyone how much you dislike me. Which I doubt does anything good for their day.

TheCrusher
+4
Level 72
Aug 19, 2020
I'm not often a fan of your comments, Kal. But this response is very well written and I couldn't agree more. Kudos.
giddyromance
+1
Level 54
Sep 21, 2014
I clearly need to brush up on my US history - it always lets me down!
JoshPen
+4
Level 79
Oct 17, 2015
There is no evidence that Nixon was aware of the Watergate burglary until after the fact.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
Thank you @JoshPen. I've reworded the question.
ColoHarpare
+7
Level 51
Oct 17, 2015
Kinda surprised there was no mention of the British cavalry charge on the Russian guns in the Battle of Balaclava, best known as the Charge of the Light Brigade. Especially since the quiz title made me think of a line from the Tennyson poem....
kalbahamut
+9
Level 82
Jul 20, 2019
still not as disastrous as the charge for baklava after dinner at a Lebanese restaurant.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
Added that one.
ander217
+1
Level 75
Aug 12, 2020
Had no idea the word balaclava (hooded face covering) had its origins in a battle. Thanks for the new knowledge.
Malbaby
+3
Level 71
Oct 17, 2015
It's just a little quiz, not a blueprint for life.
tuub
+4
Level 23
Oct 23, 2015
The Soviets in Afghanistan wasn't really an invasion as they where invited by the Afghan government, which was then a communist government, which had been established through a coup led by the Soviets.

So yeah, intervention would be a better word since they never invaded the country. And yes, even though they invited themselves into the country it still wasn't and isn't considered an invasion.

tom88
+5
Level 72
May 26, 2016
whatever you call it, it ended up being a bit of a blunder.
joeythelemur
+2
Level 84
Jul 10, 2020
I think you could call it an invasion if your troops enter your country, kill the leader and install their own. (Along with the international community demanding that the troops leave, sounds like an invasion to me.)
tkv
+1
Level 36
May 27, 2017
Please accept Armarda/Amarda for Spanish Amada, it's such an easy mistake!
Djilas
+3
Level 82
Jul 9, 2020
*Armada
Neodymium
+1
Level 59
Mar 19, 2023
You misspelled it three times while asking for a misspelling to be accepted.....
HectorVortac
+4
Level 48
Feb 26, 2018
My take on this is if you are attacking Russia or being attacked by them a blunder is coming.
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
Just listened to "Ghosts of the Ostfront" from Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast.

You really, really don't want to invade Russia.

It's hard to defeat people who don't even value their own lives and won't surrender even when their cause is hopeless. Most countries would have sued for peace in 1941, but Russia kept fighting, and just threw millions of their own people into the meat grinder.

Bringitonlarsons
+8
Level 89
Jul 9, 2020
*Laughs in Mongolian*
Koult45
+1
Level 54
Oct 25, 2020
Oh come on, Kievan Rus is barely even part of the same continuum as modern Russia.
spingospungo
+2
Level 57
Jul 14, 2021
correction - people who don't even care for others' lives. I suspect that pretty much all of those who died fighting for the USSR valued their own lives.
Dimby
+2
Level 77
Apr 25, 2022
I don’t know if suing for peace was much of an option for Russia considering the Nazis were “ruthlessly Germanizing” Russia’s territory.
TheLastFish
+2
Level 70
Jul 9, 2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Japanese_War
NoutButBuckets
+1
Level 56
Aug 12, 2020
The Russo-Japanese War did not involve Russia being invaded.
tzhg
+1
Level 59
Aug 12, 2020
No one said it did. HectorVortac's comment talked about "attacking" Russia, not "invading" it. The Japanese did win the war against the Russians.
Kesa1979
+1
Level 91
Jun 14, 2018
Great quiz 15/18. Thank you.
kenpo17
+3
Level 66
Aug 3, 2018
I would argue that the blunder at Gettysburg was committed by Robert E. Lee rather than Pickett. The plan was Lee's, and he's the one who insisted on going forward with it even over General Longstreet's objection. Pickett is just the one to whom it fell to try and make the bad plan work.
Araishin
+2
Level 65
Aug 6, 2018
The question on annexation by Germany in 1938 needs to be changed to include Austria. Parts of Austria were also annexed by Germany in March of 1938 and since this was the only annexation I was aware of I didn't have any other alternatives. Please amend. Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-annexes-austria
Djilas
+6
Level 82
Jul 9, 2020
Appeasement and allowing annexation clearly refer to Czechoslovakia.
joeythelemur
+5
Level 84
Jul 10, 2020
So you want QM to change the question because you admittedly knew of only ONE annexation? That's on you, man.
Dimby
+1
Level 77
Apr 25, 2022
The only thing about the question that could maybe be improved is that Britain did a lot worse than just allowing annexation. They actively negotiated away the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to give to the Reich.
GeographyGeek42
+1
Level 66
Feb 19, 2019
If I've learned anything in school so far it's that people should never invade Russia in the winter, never invade Russia any other time of the year, and to never buy discount coleslaw. 2 of these 3 helped me.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Jul 20, 2019
You bought some fancy coleslaw and invaded Russia in the spring time?
ander217
+1
Level 75
Aug 12, 2020
One thing I remember from high school history class is that Russia has two generals who will always defeat invaders - General Distance and General Weather.
Koult45
+1
Level 54
Oct 25, 2020
General Too Many People To Kill All of Them
mf3
+1
Level 87
Sep 13, 2019
The break-in was not at the Watergate Hotel; it was at the Watergate Office Building. (The Watergate complex consists of the office building, the hotel, and condos.)
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Sep 13, 2019
There's also a CVS where you can get passport photos taken, and a coffee stand and a pastry store. Convenient when making visa runs to the Saudi Arabian embassy right across the street.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
This has been fixed.
RedLightning
+3
Level 47
Sep 13, 2019
Please accept Czechia or Czech Republic for Czechoslovakia
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jul 9, 2020
Okay
SeaNomad
+6
Level 77
Aug 12, 2020
No, that should NOT be accepted. Or then you should also accept Slovakia.
TheGreatDuck
+2
Level 59
Aug 13, 2020
Germany did not annex any part of Slovakia, though.
Dimby
+1
Level 77
Apr 25, 2022
Yeah, Slovakia was kinda loosely allied with Germany.
ECon211
+7
Level 88
Jul 9, 2020
Minor spelling mistake. Should be 'cavalry' not 'calvary' for the Crimean War question.
vitriden
+2
Level 81
Aug 12, 2020
Still not corrected...
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Aug 12, 2020
Fixed now
DonTheLamplighter
+9
Level 84
Jul 9, 2020
Other historical blunders:

* The Trojan Rabbit

* Vizzini engaging in a battle of wits with the Man in Black.

* Me attempting this quiz.

loganite
+3
Level 88
Aug 5, 2020
* Never start a land war in Asia

* Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line ;)

lucd13
+2
Level 69
Aug 12, 2020
Calvary should be Cavalry
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Aug 12, 2020
So you decided to remove the Crusades? I remember arguing that they were not a historical blunder, but actually very successful.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Aug 12, 2020
Yes. Some of the Crusades were blunders, but the First Crusade actually conquered Jerusalem and held it for a long time.
Neodymium
+1
Level 59
Mar 19, 2023
You can put the rest.
Nathaniel
+2
Level 74
Aug 12, 2020
I would like to advocate for more leniency concerning Chernobyl. I would like to bring forward the spellings "Cernobyl" and "Czernobyl". "Cernobyl" because slavic langauges often use "č" for this sound and the latter, because in English this sound is often written thus.
mattBk
+2
Level 71
Aug 12, 2020
i keep writing Tchernobyl
aelaura
+1
Level 54
Aug 12, 2020
The "Ottoman Empire" is not a country. The correct answer should be Turkey.
kalbahamut
+4
Level 82
Aug 12, 2020
It was at the time it was invaded. Turkey did not exist. But it's generously accepted as a type-in anyway.
nonono
+1
Level 88
Aug 12, 2020
Just for the record, the US was entangled in Vietnam long before 1965.
ander217
+3
Level 75
Aug 12, 2020
True. During WWII the US supplied Ho Chi Minh with arms and guerilla training to help his Viet Minh fight the Japanese, which came back to haunt them when he became an enemy. As communists came closer to taking over, no US president wanted to go down in history as the one who allowed Vietnam to fall to communism and they kept increasing troops and support. Historians say that President Kennedy planned to have all troops out by 1965. After Kennedy's assassination, Johnson took over and felt he had to send in more troops to appease General Westmoreland. Nixon used the war for political gain and prolonged it, but at least he finally ended it. I heard his speech on TV and cried because my husband had a low draft number and would surely have been called up had the war not ended.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Aug 13, 2020
They wouldn't have gotten involved (on the side against Ho) in the first place except that deGaulle demanded it, and as France was crucial to Western Europe's resistance against Communism and the Soviets, the US gave up their support for Vietnamese independence. Roosevelt said the year before this, "Indo-China should not go back to France...France has had the country...one hundred years, and the people are worse off than they were at the beginning."
Scaro88
+2
Level 78
Aug 12, 2020
Surprised that the charge of the light brigade is the lowest, we’ve done Tennyson’s poem so many times
parkave
+1
Level 57
Feb 8, 2021
Here in the US, I had never heard of the event or poem until watching a Lindybeige video
JoanSR
+1
Level 74
Aug 13, 2020
when reading this list I feel better for failing in the capitals quizz. at least I did not harm anyone.
WildStrawberries
+2
Level 51
Aug 13, 2020
Where is: "Donald Dump's presidency." Pretty sure that beats all of these for greatest debacle.
TheRatmeister
+1
Level 85
Aug 15, 2020
The captain of the Titanic followed all procedures and posted notices for the iceberg warnings. What else was he going to do? Stop the ship and wait for the icebergs to hit him?
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Aug 17, 2020
Missed Light Brigade and Ottoman
SeaNomad
+6
Level 77
Sep 14, 2020
Not certain if Russia selling Alaska should actually be considered as blunder. It may look like one, thinking of the oil drilled there during the recent decades. But during the 19th century it was really pretty worthless. And I dare guess that USA OR UK would have captured Alaska anyway after the communist revolution in Russia 1917.
Findlay
+3
Level 82
Jan 11, 2022
Yeah, I don't think it was a blunder. It cost Russia far more than it was worth, and chances are the UK or US would have taken it even before the Revolution, and if not them, probably Japan during the Russo-Japanese War. At any rate, whatever value it may have subsequently had, I don't think Russia had much in the way of feasible options to hold onto it, making the sale difficult to describe as a blunder.
Ferbin
+2
Level 76
Oct 11, 2020
A lot of these are at the very least debatable as "blunders". Unless you're going for a very superficial look at history, like "Napoleon/Hitler tried to invade Russia and failed, lol".
parkave
+1
Level 57
Feb 8, 2021
In what way did it succeed? He lost most of his army
Neodymium
+1
Level 59
Mar 19, 2023
Come on guys, Napoleon only lost most of his army, didn't hold much of Russia and ran back home to Paris leaving his army! It was sooooo successful!
Koult45
+1
Level 54
Oct 25, 2020
Oops, I thought it was asking for the name of the city the Spanish were allowed in, not the name of the conquistador. This is why you read carefully, folks.
encomium16
+1
Level 50
Jan 8, 2021
Wouldn't have gotten the charge of the light brigade without "charge of the" being there. Now "half a league, half a league, half a league onward" is stuck in my head.
parkave
+2
Level 57
Feb 8, 2021
The fourth crusade needs to be on this. Biggest failure in history
sumguy
+2
Level 84
Feb 8, 2021
Challenger's O-rings weren't faulty. They were the same as the O-rings in every successful shuttle mission, but they were operated outside of their design parameters. NASA was aware that it was too cold to launch. The disaster wasn't caused by a mechanical failure but by human error. A more accurate clue – which would actually make it a blunder – would be, "This space shuttle explodes after launching under unsafe conditions."
charchar711
+3
Level 68
Feb 8, 2021
I'm having a hard time seeing some of these as "blunders" which implies an oopsy or some minor screw up. Many innocent people died in these examples. Many change the wording?
Dimby
+2
Level 77
Apr 25, 2022
A blunder is a critical error in judgment or strategy that leads to ruin—not a minor oopsy.
woshiwaiguoren
+3
Level 70
Apr 25, 2022
Doubtful that Russia could have held Alaska terribly much longer. Destiny was gonna manifest.
TenThousand
+1
Level 76
Apr 25, 2022
General Galtieri's attack on Falkland Islands in 1982 would have to be another.
QuizApe
+3
Level 67
Apr 25, 2022
Why aren’t ‘Spain’ and ‘Spanish’ accepted for ‘Spanish Armada’?
Pharley
+1
Level 73
Apr 25, 2022
Because they're wrong?
WhelchareHistroy
+1
Level 52
Apr 25, 2022
yea its the liberian panzer groups not the spanish fleet never not say armada, potato potata
Zupity
+1
Level 66
Apr 25, 2022
Thank you for making Anzac Day one of your holidays
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 89
Apr 25, 2022
Haven't heard about it till today. Interesting that this quiz was chosen.
Pharley
+1
Level 73
Apr 25, 2022
"One of these IS apocryphal"

FTFY

CambodianQuizzer
+1
Level 63
Apr 25, 2022
Why is Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb the thumbnail?
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Apr 25, 2022
Just missed Light Brigade
AmyD85
+1
Level 71
Apr 25, 2022
Grammar error in the quiz description: It should read, "One of these IS apocryphal." Great quiz!
blizzrd33
+2
Level 79
Apr 25, 2022
Churchill gets off very lightly for his disastrous strategy against the Ottoman Empire including the failed Gallipoli invasion. A few days before Britain declared war on the Ottomans, Churchill (as First Lord of the Admiralty) ordered a naval bombardment of the forts at the Narrows in the Dardanelles which achieved nothing other than to alert the Turks who quickly began improving their coastal defences - just in time for Churchill's second plan for the ANZACs to invade at Gallopoli, which also achieved no strategic gains and was abandoned after much loss of life on both sides.
grantdon
+1
Level 73
Apr 28, 2022
He did lose his job as first Lord of the Admiralty and faded into relative obscurity for a number of years
DukeOfLorraine
+1
Level 65
Apr 26, 2022
Cross-referencing the Iliad, Odyssey and archeological evidences indicate that the end of the Trojan War was in 1184 BC.
MalyJacus
+1
Level 55
Apr 26, 2022
Should be labeled as "easy". And to those who missed the light brigade please read the poem! Should be standard knowledge to anyone who finishes high school, especially in English-language speaking countries.
GreenGeographer
+2
Level 46
Apr 26, 2022
Pearl Harbour was a success - it was taking on the US that was the blunder
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
Apr 27, 2022
Which is what attacking Pearl Harbor meant. Also, the Japanese failed to find or sink any American aircraft carriers during the attack which would later prove decisive at Midway.
MalyJacus
+2
Level 55
Oct 26, 2022
2022: Putin expands low-level conflict in the donbass region of eastern Ukraine into a full-scale invasion.
CatFish
+1
Level 37
Feb 3, 2023
This space shuttle explodes due to faulty O-rings.

The O-rings were not faulty. The UK supplier kept contacting the US over and over all day but was ignored. They were trying to call off the launch because the O-rings would be brittle due to the temperature.

SquidBob
+1
Level 43
Feb 3, 2023
Technically Chernobyl was not a meltdown, but rather a explosion due to a build up in pressure in a poorly lead test.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Nov 17, 2023
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster

"This process led to steam explosions and a meltdown"

FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 67
Apr 20, 2023
I like how not acquiring Netflix is on here along with all the military blunders
McKenzieFam
+1
Level 63
Sep 27, 2023
Spent so long trying every possible spelling of Tenochtitlan....

didn't read the question apparently....

DougB
+1
Level 60
Nov 17, 2023
Historical blunders, but it doesn't mention the UK's vote to leave the EU? That was probably the biggest mistake ever made by a democracy.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Nov 17, 2023
You checked the box for some reason so I'll respond.

Regardless of what you think of Brexit, its trivial compared to things like the Vietnam War where hundreds of thousands of people died, often in horrible ways. Compared to that, Brexit is a non-event.

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