Why Do Military Leaders Need Good Advice?

Years ago, Oscar Wilde wrote that “The only good thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself”. However, when in practice, good advice helps immensely with making good decisions, while ignoring said advice may cause problems. The ignorance of good advice perpetuates itself more than ever in military history. Throughout the ages, military leaders have intentionally ignored good advice and acted against it, causing said leaders to suffer significant losses. This rejection of valuable advice remained a constant and ultimately ended in the unfortunate loss of thousands of lives. During the Second Punic War, the Civil War, and World War 2, military leaders ignored important advice to their detriment. In the Second Punic War, the military leader Sempronius Longinus failed to listen to important information. His enemy, Hannibal, had recently advanced towards Rome with a skilled and well-made army, and had recently defeated his co-leader Scipio in an unplanned skirmish. Once Sempronius heard of Hannibal’s approach, he immediately wished to confront his enemy as soon
However, their rejection of this advice eventually had severe consequences, and ended up causing unnecessary tragedies. If these leaders had taken the advice and used it to their own benefit, they would have had a much easier time with their conflicts and most likely succeed in their various wars. Although these military leaders failed to take valuable advice and ended up troubled because of it, they can serve as examples for people in the modern day. Because historians could make sure to save these events in writing, anyone nowadays can look back if they ever question whether or not he or she should take good advice, or if it fails to have any use. Oscar Wilde’s saying, while it seems reasonable at first, fails to hold water when compared to the experiences and knowledge of