Military traitors have been reviled throughout history, yet they continue to captivate public interest, as the idea of betraying one’s homeland and turning against former comrades is staggering. Motivations for such actions vary; some are driven by greed, others by a desire for vengeance, and many by personal ego. Despite their switch in allegiance, traitors often find little acceptance among their new allies, as their betrayal of their own people highlights their potential to betray anyone.
Here is a list of the worst traitors in military history, beginning with the American Revolution.
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold is one of the biggest, most well-known military traitors on our list. He was a brave and brilliant officer in the Continental Army during the US Revolutionary War. After proving his worth on a number of occasions and receiving brutal injuries, he felt other officers were taking some of the credit for his achievements and being favored over him for promotions.
Even though he was highly trusted by George Washington, Arnold became disillusioned with his side of the war. He defected to the British in 1780, after offering to hand over West Point, in return for a position as a general in the British Army. The British never captured West Point, but Arnold did betray the Continental Army, fighting against those he once led as a brigadier general.
In the United States today, Benedict Arnold’s name is synonymous with the word “traitor.”
Alfred Redl
Alfred Redl, the second individual on our list of military history’s biggest traitors, was the head of the counterintelligence branch in the Austro-Hungarian Army, having pioneered counterespionage techniques. Between 1903-13, he secretly worked as a spy for the intelligence service of the Imperial Russian Army, using his position to hand over extremely valuable documents.
Over the course of his spying career, Redl gave the Russians the entire Austrian invasion plan for Serbia, military plans, doctrines, tactics and strength. He also used his position to provide the names of agents working as spies against Russia. Even worse, he sent some into Russia, only to then inform Russian authorities of their presence.
Redl is believed to be responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Austrians during the First World War, and he’s thought to have been part of the reason behind Austria-Hungary’s poor military performance during the conflict. In 1913, he was outed as a spy using his own techniques, at which point he took his own life.
Mildred Gillars
Mildred Gillars was one of several American broadcasters who spread German propaganda during World War II, under her alias, “Axis Sally.” Born in Portland, Maine, she moved to Dresden in 1934, to study music and later worked as an English teacher. Her friends and family back home were shocked when she became a propagandist after hostilities broke out in Europe.
In 1940, Gillars began working as a broadcaster for German State Radio. Throughout the conflict, she hosted three shows: Home Sweet Home Hour, designed to make American troops feel homesick; GI’s Letter-box and Medical Reports, intended to scare Americans by reporting on injuries and deaths in battle; and Midge at the Mike, where she made anti-Semitic remarks, attacked US President Franklin Roosevelt and spread defeatist messages.
Gillars remained on the air until two days before Germany’s surrender. Her location was subsequently uncovered, and she was arrested in March 1946. Tried on eight counts of treason, she was found guilty, sentenced to 10-30 years and fined $10,000.
She was released on parole in 1961.
Harold Cole
Harold Cole, characterized by his history of petty crimes, theft, and deceit, holds a place of infamy as one of Britain’s most notorious and important military turncoats. In the early stages of the Second World War, he collaborated with the French Resistance, helping soldiers and downed pilots get back to England through covert escape routes within German-occupied France. Although initially esteemed within this circle, Cole ultimately betrayed his comrades to the Gestapo in late 1941.
In a fateful act, Cole divulged the identities of 150 people involved in the escape networks or aiding the French Resistance. Tragically, around 50 of these individuals faced execution or perished in concentration camps.
Throughout the conflict, Cole found himself pursued by the British, German, and French authorities. His life met a violent end in 1946 during a shootout with French law enforcement, as he violently resisted arrest. He is now remembered as the “most selfish and callous traitors who ever served the enemy in time of war.”
Robert Hanssen
Described as “possibly the worst intelligence disaster in US history,” the actions of traitor Robert Hanssen are the most recent on our list. He was an FBI agent from 1976-2001, and spent most of that time selling top-secret information to the Soviet Union and, following its collapse, to the Russians.
Hanssen leaked information about American spy equipment, such as radar and spy satellites, and revealed the names of agents spying on the Soviets. He also informed the USSR about a highly-secret eavesdropping tunnel built beneath the Soviet Embassy by the FBI.
On one occasion, Hanssen was tasked with identifying a mole within the FBI. Unbeknownst to his superiors, the individual was actually himself, which made it easy for him to cover his tracks. He remained anonymous throughout his career, and it was only on February 18, 2001, after a long investigation, that the FBI discovered he was a spy and arrested him.
On June 5, 2023, Hanssen, then 79, was found unresponsive in his prison cell at the ADX Florence supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. He was later pronounced dead, with an autopsy determining his passing was the result of colon cancer.
Fritz Duquesne
Arguably the most unique military traitor on this list, Fritz Duquesne – better known as “The Duke” – was the leader of a German spy ring during the Second World War. A South African who’d fought for the Boers during the Second Boer War, he served as a secret agent for the Germans during both World Wars, conducting sabotage and gathering evidence in several Allied countries – in particular, the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa. He was also active in South America.
During the First World War, Duquesne operated a spy ring that targeted British merchant vessels in South America. Prior to the US entering World War II, he operated a spy ring on American soil, made up of 33 German agents. Their covert activities were later revealed to the US government by a double agent.
Throughout his life, Duquesne operated under several aliases and was arrested on numerous occasions, managing to escape from the majority of the facilities he was sent to. He also served as an adviser for US President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt and found work in both the publishing and film industries.
Wang Jingwei
The final entry on our list of the biggest military traitors in history is Wang Jingwei, a leftist politician in pre-Communist China who often clashed with his rival, Chiang Kai-shek.
At the beginning of World War II, Wang made a deal with Japan to hand over Nanjing, in return for him being given a puppet government that would be run in collaboration with the Japanese Empire. He frequently spoke about his admiration of Japan, with his speeches often reaffirming China’s submission to its neighbor. He died just before the end of the conflict.
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Once Japan was defeated by the Allies, Chiang’s government returned to Nanjing, where they destroyed Wang’s tomb and burned his body. All that remains of the site is a tiny pavilion that informs all who visit that he was a traitor.