The December 2, 1943 Air Raid on the Italian port of Bari was not just a disaster for the allies, but an embarrassment whose full details were hidden for more than a decade.
An epithet is a byname, a characterizing word or phrase that accompanies or occurs in place of the name of a person or thing. Historically, some have been unfortunate- just ask Alfonso the Slobberer or Eystein Foul-Fart.