Military Misfortunes: the Anatomy of Failure in War

Military Misfortunes: the Anatomy of Failure in War

by Eliot A. Cohen (Author)

Synopsis

Why do competent armies fail? What made the 1915 British-led invasion of Gallipoli one of the bloodiest catastrophes of the First World War? How did a dozen German U-Boats manage to humiliate the U.S. navy for nine months in 1942, sinking an average of 650,000 tons of shipping monthly? Why was the sophisticated Israeli intelligence service so thoroughly surprised by the onslaught of combined Arab armies during the Yom Kippur War of 1973? MILITARY MISFORTUNES, written by the prominent American strategic analyst, Eliot Cohen and British historian John Gooch, has become the classic, standard answer to these recurring conundrums. Cohen and Gooch's theory of defeat combines gripping battlefield narratives with an innovative look at the hidden factors that undermine armies and lead otherwise well-equipped nations to stunning defeat. It is a must read for anyone who hopes to avoid the same fate.

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 320
Edition: Reissue
Publisher: Free Press
Published: 15 May 2006

ISBN 10: 0743280822
ISBN 13: 9780743280822

Media Reviews
The general reader will find this a fascinating and informative book; those responsible for their nations' security will find in it lessons they will ignore at their own peril.

-- Major General (Res.) Aharon Yariv, former director, Israeli Military Intelligence
Cohen and Gooch have done their job well. They have mastered their sources, used considerable imagination...the book is well-written and sound in judgment.

-- Caspar Weinberger, The Wall Street Journal
Author Bio
Eliot A. Cohen is Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University and founding director of the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies. From 2007 to 2009 he was Counselor of the Department of State, serving as Secretary Condoleezza Rice's senior advisor on strategic issues.