A Spanish admiral during the Spanish-American War, Pascual Cervera y Topete had no choice but to command an under-equipped task force under orders and political considerations.

Alas, the fleet was destroyed, and the admiral, three of his captains, and 1,800 sailors and marines were taken to Portsmouth, N.H.

Cervera was taken prisoner for the remainder of the conflict.

David Dixon Porter came from a family with a strong Naval tradition. He was a Union admiral during the Civil War who participated in the Union’s blockade of several Southern cities. He was promoted after the war, but he’s often remembered for one major snafu:

Porter’s gunboat squadron was stranded by unusually low water levels on the Red River Expedition in April and May of 1864. Union engineers could only save his ships by damming the river, allowing the waters to rise just enough to allow Porter’s ships to pass over the rapids.

Frank Jack Fletcher, a United States admiral during WWII, was heavily criticized during the Battle of Eastern Solomons.

Fletcher and his fleet were able to defeat the superior Japanese fleet, and yet they failed to pursue the enemy as they withdrew.

David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, was a British admiral during WWI who fought successful engagements at the Helgoland Bight, sinking three cruisers and one destroyer without loss. And at the Battle of Dogger Bank, he sank a German battlecruiser under Admiral Franz von Hipper.

It was at the Battle of Jutland that things went sideways. Beatty suffered heavy losses as the Germans sunk the“Indefatigable” and “Queen Mary” and turned what should have been a decisive victory into…well, much less.

Nazi General Gunther Lutjens commanded the Bismarck, which was considered the most formidable battleship of its day. When the British engaged the Bismarck at dawn, Lutjens froze with indecision leading Bismarck Captain Ernst Lindemann to take charge.

They repelled the British but the Bismarck was heavily damaged. The British regrouped and attacked again, leaving Lutjens and his ship stranded on open waters before heavy bombardment sank the “unsinkable” Bismarck.

Franklin Buchanan was the only full admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. He lost to Union Rear Admiral David Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864.

Not only that, but Buchanan was wounded and taken prisoner for the remainder of the war.

Karel Doorman was a Dutch admiral who commanded an Allied fleet at the Battle of the Java Sea.

On 27 February 1942, Doorman and his fleet engaged a superior Japanese fleet.

Outgunned and outnumbered, he pressed on with the attack ending in his fleet’s destruction and his death.

Admiral Richmond K. Turner led American Naval forces during WWII. Turner was Director of War Plans in Naval Operations when he intercepted Japanese diplomatic communications with details strongly pointing to an imminent attack on the Pacific Fleet’s base at Pearl Harbor.

But a lack of preparation meant the bombardment still sunk four Allied heavy cruisers within half an hour, killing over 1,000 Allied sailors.

Gunichi Mikawa was a Japanese vice admiral during WWII.

Mikawa won a long battle at Guadalcanal against the US Navy and an Australian Navy Cruiser but was criticized when he broke off his attack instead of pressing Allied transport ships.

After the war, Mikawa maintained that he acted on the information given to him – but that feels like kind of a lame excuse.

In 1893, Admiral George Tryon served as the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet commander leading two parallel warships in fleet exercises off the North African coast. He sunk one of the ships, including half of its crew, while the other ship barely survived as Tryon attempted to turn both ships around in a move that spelled disaster.

The bizarre order brought both ships into collision with each other. Tryon was a strong, competent officer but his contemporaries have also labeled him as radical and overbearing to the point of dictatorial.

Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo commanded the First Air Fleet that sent the bombers to Pearl Harbor. His decision not to send a third wave of planes that could have destroyed the fuel oil storage and repair facilities of the US Navy in the Pacific allowed the US fleet to recover and fight back during the attack. (Don’t get us wrong, we’re grateful for that!)

Later, Nagumo was defeated at the Battle of Midway and was later overwhelmed by US naval forces at the Battle of Saipan.

Ariabignes was one of the sons of the Persian king Darius I. He was also one of Xerxes’s admirals during the Battle of Salamis where, along with others, he fell for a fake-out maneuver by the Greeks and was subsequently overwhelmed.

The faster, sturdier Greek ships then pressed the Persians, not allowing them to maneuver in a confined space.

Ariabignes died in battle.

French Admiral François Darlan was a distinguished naval commander in World War I. He was appointed Admiral and Commander‐in‐Chief in 1939 and after France’s surrender to Germany in 1940, became a Nazi collaborator.

Darlan ordered most of the French fleet to North Africa so the Allies wouldn’t be able to capture it, believing that Germany would win the war. But as we know, it didn’t happen that way.

Zinovy Rozhestvensky was a Russian admiral who disregarded orders to stay away from the enemy.

Rozhestvensky engaged the Japanese in what would become known as the Battle of Tsushima.

Japanese Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō knew of the Russian ship’s location. So, using reconnaissance and wireless communications, the Japanese Admiral outsmarted and outmaneuvered Rozhestvensky causing the Russian to lose his flagship and most of his fleet.

Mark Antony was a feared Roman commander with a soft spot for women.

However, in the Battle of Actium, Antony made critical mistakes at sea against fellow Roman Octavian.

Octavian gained the upper hand early, and it was then that Cleopatra fled with Antony in pursuit.

The Roman ships surrendered to Octavian, and after a year, he found and defeated Antony and Cleopatra in Egypt.

Wilgelm Vitgeft was a Russia-German admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy who served during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

Vitgeft’s fleet was intercepted by the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Combined Fleet under Admiral Togo Heihachiro. He died with his immediate staff when a salvo struck the upper bridge of his ship.

Ali Pasha fought in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

The Ottoman Admiral had the larger fleet, but they lacked the discipline of their European opposition.

Pasha could have taken a commanding position during the battle, but instead, he rammed the enemy commander’s ship, engaging them in close quarters. The Europeans broke through the middle, defeating them in battle.

Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armada, was sent to conquer England in 1588. He had a larger and well-equipped fleet to take on the English, but it was his confidence that became his downfall.

The Spanish ships were huge, lacking in maneuverability, and the English took full advantage.

An English naval force under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake took on the Spaniards, engaging them in an eight-hour-long battle until the winds changed in favor of the English, forcing the Spanish fleet to retreat.

Xerxes I, leader of the Persian Empire, directed a massive invasion of Greece in 480 BC.

He won several battles, but instead of letting the Greeks starve, he went to attack them. And that resulted in his massive defeat at the Battle of Salamis.

That was the beginning of the end for Xerxes’ invasion plans.

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve was often credited with Napoleon’s failed 1805 invasion of England. He was a French admiral during the Napoleonic Wars who gave the order to sail out when he learned that Napoleon was going to replace him. British commander Lord Nelson intercepted Villeneuve and defeated his fleet.

On 22 April 1806, Villenueve was found dead at the Hôtel de la Patrie in Rennes. There were six stab wounds in his left lung and one in the heart.

A farewell note to his wife was found but suspicions arose that Napoleon ordered him killed.