General Cadorna Sacked 217 Generals and 600 Officers Rather Than Change Failed Tactics

What was said

"In 2 years, he launches what Mark Thompson calls a rolling purge of his officers. In 2 years, he sacks 217 generals, 255 colonels, and 355 battalion commanders. You would think if you were General Cadorna, you would say, well, that didn't work. I probably won't try that again. He tries it 11 more times in the next 2 years or so."

Italian Supreme Commander Luigi Cadorna, rather than questioning his doctrine of frontal assault published in an 1898 pamphlet, blamed his subordinates for battlefield failures. He dismissed 217 generals, 255 colonels, and 355 battalion commanders over two years while launching twelve battles of the Isonzo using identical failed tactics. His inflexibility resulted in hundreds of thousands of unnecessary Italian casualties and exemplified the worst stereotypes of World War I generalship.