How to Lose a Battle
Collecting and Reflecting on History's Greatest Military Mix-ups
Bill Fawcett's entertaining assemblage of notable wartime blunders reads as a 'though shalt not' guide for the budding general or despot in all of us
They say that all it takes to erase a lengthy career of sterling achievements is one big, well-publicized mistake. Mr. Gibson will tell you this is a truth in the world of Hollywood, while Prime Minister Blair and Lord Black of Cross Harbour can attest to the same in terms of the political and corporate arenas.
Scandalous, injurious and/or ridiculous as the mistakes of this trio and those like them might seem, when the career in question is that of a military commander, a single mistake, be it born of pride, ignorance, incompetence or just plain bad luck, can mean the deaths of thousands, the demise of a nation and a jarring, handbrake turn in the course of history.
A Menagerie of Martial Mistakes
Having previously written You Did What?, a broad collection of famous screw-ups ranging from the loss of the Titanic to movie-star career missteps, Fawcett now centres his critical focus upon the battlefield, with How to Lose a Battle.
Written mainly by Fawcett and with occasional contributions by other authors (Brian Thomsen, William R. Forstchen, Douglas Niles and Edward E. Kramer), the compiled cock-ups found here are pulled from all corners of the world and all points throughout history. Beginning in ancient times, the first chapter opens with the Battle of Arbela in 331 BC, during which Persian Emperor Darius III, despite possessing superior numbers, supplies and battlefield positioning, fled after briefly tangling with Alexander the Great and thus lost the then-world superpower to an upstart pack of ancient Greeks. Later, read of the Battle of Agincourt, and learn why, when neither commander has a clue as to what’s going on, the only thing that really matters the size of the bows you brought along. Moving into more modern muddles, contributing author Douglas Niles reveals that the Battle of Britain was won by English determination, and lost by Reichsmarshal Goering’s repeated miscalculation, while a review of Pearl Harbor points to reports that were ignored by American commanders and which may have repeatedly warned of an attack.
Thought-Provoking and Easy-Reading
Almost as broad in spectrum as the conflicts and commanders discussed are the various failings that won them historical notoriety, with one of Battle’s most intriguing qualities being the invitation to wonder, at the end of each chapter, just how different the world would be had some very simple decisions been made differently. Would the Roman Empire have ultimately fallen if a newly appointed politician had not decided to play General and led three full legions – 80,000 men – to slaughter in the forests of Germany? Would the United States today swear loyalty to the Crown if the feared Hessian mercenaries defending Trenton, New Jersey, had not held the world’s most ill-timed booze-up on the night before General Washington’s war-altering Christmas Day attack?
Written in a straightforward manner with a ‘layman’s words’ approach and the occasional tongue-in-cheek commentary, Battle is a book that can be read by military novices as easily as by any armchair campaigner. That being said, however, it should be remembered that this is a collection of summaries, and so anyone looking for something more in-depth than a sketched outline of formations, tactics and outcomes should start here and then go in search of a more focused account – any Military History section worth the shelf label will have entire books devoted to any one of the battles Fawcett includes in his assembly.
Given its readable nature, read-worthy host of topics and novel approach to the conventional wartime play-by-play, How to Lose a Battle will please anyone with an amateur interest in military history, a taste for how-not-to’s or a rec-reader’s need for something on the light and enlightening side.
