Military Blunders: The How and Why of Military Failure

Military Blunders: The How and Why of Military Failure

by SaulDavid (Author)

Synopsis

A professional military historian analyzes the most spectacular cock-ups in military history caused by everything from incompetent generals to interfering politicians, hopeless planning and misplaced confidence. This graphic account has a great deal to say about the psychology of military incompetence and the reasons even the most well-oiled military machines inflict disaster upon themselves. It covers more than 30 engagements, beginning in AD9 with the massacre of Varus and his legions in the Black Forest; including nightmares of the Victorian Age such as the Retreat from Kabul; crushing reverses of two World Wars such as the Siege of Kut, Mussolini's invasion of Egypt and the fall of Singapore; many fiascos such as the Second Crusade, Colenso and the Yalu River; and continuing right up to the present with Goose Green in the Falklands and the Bravo Two Zero SAS patrol in the Gulf War.

Contents: Unfit to command - aged, ill, inexperienced, indecisive or plain incompetent generals; meddling ministers - fiascos caused by politicians interfering with or overriding their generals; planning for trouble - military operations that were doomed to fail because of flaws in the planning stage; misplaced confidence - catastrophes brought about by a fatal underestimation of the enemy; a failure to perform - battles and campaigns lost because of the poor performance of the ordinary soldier.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Edition: 1st Paperback Edition
Publisher: Robinson
Published: 30 Oct 1997

ISBN 10: 1854879189
ISBN 13: 9781854879189
Book Overview: A professional military historian analyzes the most spectacular cock-ups in military history

Author Bio
Saul David is Professor of War Studies at the University of Buckingham and the bestselling author of Zulu Hart, the first novel in the George Hart series, as well as several critically-acclaimed history books, including The Indian Mutiny: 1857 (shortlisted for the Westminster Medal for Military Literature), Zulu: The Heroism and Tragedy of the Zulu War of 1879 (a Waterstone's Military History Book of the Year) and, most recently, Victoria's Wars: The Rise of Empire. An experienced broadcaster, Saul David has presented and appeared in history programmes for all the major TV channels and is a regular contributor to Radio 4.