The Worst Betrayals in History

five of the worst wartime betrayals during war who you can trust is one of the most essential and important things whether it's on the battlefield or in the War Room betrayal of this trust can have catastrophic consequences that Ripple far beyond personal grievances impacting the entire trajectory of war and human history across thousands of years there have been times in war when people have made decisions that can only be seen as a deep betrayal of their comrades and Country the attack on murel Kabir it all started soon after Dunkirk it's 1940 and the French army

has suffered heavy losses by June 7th the Germans were less than 70 mi from Paris the chances of the French negotiating with the axis began to look more and more likely the rest of the Allies particularly the British had a big problem with this the French fleet was one of the world's largest navies and a strength against the Axis powers what would happen if it fell straight into the Germans waiting hands Not only would the loss of such a fleet be a major blow but handing it to the other side could spell disaster in Britain

talks on how to proceed if France dropped out of the war had already begun admiral darlon of the French Fleet tried to assuage these concerns responding he would never hand over the fleet and orders to Scuttle it would be given if there was no choice in Britain the war cabinet met and agreed that they would only allow France to sign an Armistice if it was moved to British ports before negotiations began unfortunately this would leave French North Africa wide open to retaliation and Premier rad wasn't willing to risk it the two countries continued to go

back and forth rard resigned after another British proposal was rejected by his cabinet and French Admiral darlan was adamant Britain wouldn't survive the German advance and that he didn't quote create a fleet to offer it to the British nevertheless word was sent to the British reiterating their promise to never let the fleet fall into German hands unfortunately Church Hill was disinclined to take them at their word so Britain discussed another option they syn the French Fleet themselves meanwhile Hitler recognized the French would never include the fleet in any Armistice and instead offered that the ships

would remain at access controlled ports firmly out of the war effort the Armistice was signed on June 22nd 1940 it was then that Britain began discussing the reality of operation catapult appointing vice admiral Sir James Somerville he was to sail to murel Kabir where a portion of the French fleet was kept with four options for the Admiral one bring ships back to British harbors and continue the fight two bring ships back to British harbors and allow them to be repatriated three sail to French ports in the West Indies and have the ship demilitarized four syn

them the Admiral refused with great regret and no small degree of awareness regarding the treachery they were displaying British vice admiral Somerville gave the order to open fire on the French at 554 p.m. July 3rd it became the first instance of the two countries firing on each other since the Battle of waterl at the same time 200 plus French warships and Naval auxiliaries were seized in British home ports 15 minutes later Somerville gave the order to Halt he told the French he needed to see the ship sinking or he'd have no choice but to reopen

fire however during this a battleship managed to slip away a tactical blunder by Somerville that led to follow-up attacks over the next 3 days the result of this betrayal by the British was immediate the French severed relations and responded by symbolically bombing jalter the British papers lauded the whole move as horrible but NE necessary and Church Hill gave a rousing but not entirely true speech to the House of Commons claiming the Brits had succeeded in taking most of the French Fleet and that a battle cruiser had aimed to put itself under German control by July

6th 1,297 French officers were missing or dead and a further 351 were wounded somerville's letters to his wife showed his horror at leading the attack calling it the biggest political blunder of modern times and seething he had been chosen to do such a lousy job the Battle of Hong Kong it was 1941 and Britain sent a request to Canada to send two more battalions into Hong Kong to reinforce the citystate it's quite possible at this time the man who suggested the move Major General grat didn't have the knowledge that those above him did that despite

Allied occupation it was becoming inevitable that the Far East would soon enter into World War II but but another man almost certainly did Chief of Canadian general staff Harry crar despite highlevel British contacts that should have warned him of the possibility he assured the king there was no military risk it was the start of a move that led to the Betrayal of some of Canada's most vulnerable troops crerar was given a list of battalions by Brigadier JK Lawson split into class A B and C he strongly recommended that crerar not select battalions from class C

these were troops that required refresher training or had insufficient training and were not recommended for any operations to his credit crerar tried other options nine out of 10 of the Class A were earmarked for transfers overseas in class B four were part of a newly formed Division and three were already employed on coastal defense duties seemingly crerar was left with little real choice in the matter the volunteer groups Winnipeg grenadiers and Canadian Royal rifles were chosen from class C to make up the newly established sea Force crar claimed his choice was based on wanting a

division from each side of Canada geographically and that they were on similar missions until recently and so should be accustomed to the conditions the reality was the recruits had no meaningful training were inexperienced and lacked the equipment required in the words of one Royal Rifleman we were just kids nevertheless the Japanese were coming December 7th dawned and the six battalions at the Hong Kong Garrison were put to their Battle Stations after reports of movements On the Border later that day they were attacked Brigadier Lawson who had gone with the men to Hong Kong rallied but

as per words by the Winnipeg grenadiers troops themselves it was just a matter of time before they overran us with such little experience they didn't stand a chance over the coming weeks the troops were trampled and dismantled by the effective Japanese Brigadier Lawson was killed killed in the attack becoming the highest ranking Canadian officer to die in World War II even the wounded weren't granted a reprieve as the Japanese stormed into a hospital bayonetting soldiers where they lay the Winnipeg grenadiers and the Royal rifles of SE Force should have never even been there it's widely

acknowledged that they simply shouldn't have been put in that position it was a betrayal of the men who trusted their country to look out for them to the best of their abilities instead they were chosen to be put In Harm's Way without the proper tools and resources to survive in the end 290 Canadians were killed and another 493 were wounded Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold is a name that has become synonymous with traitor in the United States in one of the most dramatic betrayals in history the high ranking revolutionary officer Benedict Arnold turned coat on his

fellow Americans delivering vital information to the British an extremely intelligent and strategic man Benedict Arnold soon made a name for himself providing supplies and ammunition and as a prominent leader at New Haven during the Revolutionary War he worked his way up the ranks and became close confidence with Philip Skyler and George Washington not long after Arnold along with Ethan Allen seized fort taond deroga on Lake Champlain from the British after his success Arnold took a boat along the lake retaking other positions until the whole of Champlain was firmly under American control in 1775 he then

led the failed Siege of Quebec City but clever tactical moves on his part still earned him greater awareness among the Americans promoted to Brigadier it was seemingly inevitable that Arnold would be one of the country's top generals soon however he had his enemies as well as supporters those who thought of his military plans as presumptuous were unimpressed when he took the lead away from from Allen in fighting across the whole of Lake Champlain as a result of those working against him in 1777 Arnold found out that he had been passed over for the position of

Major General putting officers who worked under him as his superiors feeling betrayed Arnold tried to resign but his good friend George Washington refused to let him not long after Arnold was severely wounded when a musket ball hit his leg and his horse fell on him against doctor's advice Arnold refused to let his leg be removed and he ended up permanently injured already bitter at the treatment from his fellow Americans Arnold now lived a life off the battlefield where he met many people he wouldn't have otherwise it was here the seeds of his treachery were sown

as military governor of Philadelphia he was engaged to Margaret shippen daughter of a loyalist whether Arnold was comfortable in his new life or just angry and reacted accordingly as a matter for debate but he gained extensive debts from extravagantly living beyond his means and profiting from his Newfound alliances when Accused by the Supreme executive Council of Pennsylvania of this he wrote to Washington reminding him of everything he had done and how ungratefully he had been received in return although he was found guilty Washington merely lightly reprimanded him loyally standing by Arnold's side little did Washington

know that Benedict Arnold had made new friends opening correspondence with one Major General John Andre of the British army Arnold set himself down an irreversible course of infamy an inviting Prospect he believed considering how his own countrymen had treated him that's why when Washington offered him command of the Army's Northern Department Arnold declin citing his injuries as the reason instead requesting control of West Point in June 1780 Arnold sent plans of the Army Post to the British and set about weakening its defenses preventing repairs and dispatching troops to ensure it was Ill guarded when Washington

sent news of a planned secret visit Arnold urged the British to come immediately to capture him but on September 21st 1780 Andre was caught carrying papers that revealed their plans Washington was said to be truly devastated as he had trusted his friend and could hardly believe his betrayal Arnold himself escaped becoming a turncoat and Brigadier General in the British army late wreaking havoc on Washington's home state of Virginia Benedict Arnold's betrayal has gone down in history as one of the most significant moments of treachery displayed by an officer but historians now ask did America betray

him first quisling much like Benedict Arnold is synonymous with Traer in the US there is a man from Norway who earned the same dubious honor vidkun quisling vidkun quisling was a Norwegian politician with strong pro-nazi leanings who created his own party National suling as an almost direct copy of Hitler's in contrast to Norway's General acceptance of all people quisling was also strongly anti-semitic believing certain races to be inferior to those of Nordic descent all in all he was a very unpopular politician which makes his rise to power even more surprising as Hitler made his moves

in Germany across the 1930 quisling now minister of defense was watching closely and admiring we know during this period he was in contact with Hitler or at the very least Hitler's Superior officers and in December 1939 kisling and Hitler met in person for the first time seizing his opportunity quisling shared his ultimate goal to unify the superior Germanic countries Hitler invaded on April 9th 1940 after multiple meetings including with quisling who shared information on Military dis positions in Norway ultimately though it was the government's subsequent actions that left a vacuum for quisling to make his

own moves despite being forewarned of the invasion the government response was lackluster they rejected Germany's ultimatum and along with the royal family fled Oslo rather than stay to hold the administrative buildings when doing so they declared Oslo an open City hoping it would save them from the catastrophic shelling that had been seen in Poland's Capital Warsaw while this may have in some ways saved the city it also left it very open for the Germans who were able to easily take control of significant government buildings across Oslo in collaboration with quisling of course with no one

to stop him quisling soon with Hitler's support appointed a new government under his leadership announcing his decision to the Norwegian public later that day unfortunately for him Hitler's man in Norway German Reich special Envoy Minister Brower was less than impressed with this with the failure to capture Norway's King came the inability to persuade him to accept a pro-nazi government headed by quisling Brower was in the unfortunate position of trying to handle the difficult political situation that had Arisen and there was no love lost between himself and quisling the unpopular usurper continued to try to secure

his government over the next few days but due to kisling's lack of support and his own suggested ministers rejecting the positions he had appointed it didn't take long for his attempt did coup to collapse Hitler recognized it was important to keep Kling on his side but also recognized it was time to step in and sort the Norway situation out for himself instead he appointed Joseph turbov as head of Norway's government but insisted Kling should still have a reserve role that allowed him to be involved without actually giving him any power to make decisions quisling continued

to blatantly work and support the Nazi side to the disgust of the Norwegian people under herbo's leadership kling's NS party began to decline and by 1942 Hitler was thoroughly uninterested in continuing correspondance with the failed politician despite his continued heavy support and movements to support the Nazi party after the war Kling got his comeuppence for his betrayal of his country he was sentenced to death the sack of Constantinople 1204 the sack of Constantinople nearly a millennia ago is still considered one of the greatest betrayals in history the ramifications of which are still felt and discussed

today when newly appointed Pope Innocent III called for The Fourth Crusade he did so with the goal of liberating the holy lands from the hands of Islam and absorbing them into the rightful Empire in reality however the Crusade targeted the Orthodox Greek Christians of the Byzantine empire in a treacherous move that betrayed their shared Faith allegedly Pope Innocent III had no idea of the Crusader's real intent the Orthodox and Western Christians had been clashing for over two Centuries by the sack of Constantinople their very different views of Christianity caused dissension and distrust between the two

with each viewing the other through checkered lenses so when The Fourth Crusade set sail in 122 it was with Advanced Naval technology and an army of venetians who had their own score to settle with those in Constantinople after earlier ejections from the city Unfortunately they soon found that only a third of the anticipated number of Crusaders arrived meaning they could not pay the venetians for their Fleet and Provisions in response Crusade leader Doge enrio dandolo made a move that would cause him to unfavorably go down in history as one who put the wheels in motion

for a Christian unchristian Attack under his leadership the Crusaders attacked zaraa a Christian city under control control of Hungary when he was sent word of what had happened Pope Innocent III was Furious he announced the whole Crusade was excommunicated and that the church did not support their treacherous actions although it was withdrawn from the French members soon after for the venetians it remained in place the situation only got more dicey when Prince Alexius Angelos then got involved potential heir to the Byzantine title he persuaded the Crusaders to reinstate him in Constantinople something some opposed and

left the crusade in response to in 1203 the Crusaders entered the city and procured Alexius his title however he failed to live up to his end of the bargain and his popularity among his own people waned after his assassination the Crusaders still camped outside the city walls chose to attack Constantinople again they captured the city on April 12th 124 and set about desecrating the city pillaging slaughtering and assaulting women as they went by May 16th 124 the first Latin emperor of Constantinople was instated having successfully beaten down the Greek Orthodox Christians who had held the

city rather than liberating a holy land they had successfully created a new Outpost of the Catholic Church these actions are ultimately what led to the decline in Christianity in the East over the next millennium leaving feelings of betrayal and Ill feeling among different Christian denominations that still persist oh