Military Misfortunes : The Anatomy of Failure in War

Description; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface; Chapter 1: Why Misfortune?; Chapter 2: Understanding Disaster; Chapter 3: Analyzing Failure; Chapter 4: Failure to Learn American Antisubmarine Warfare in 1942; Chapter 5: Failure to Anticipate Israel Defense Forces on the Suez Front and the Golan Heights, 1973; Chapter 6: Failure to Adapt The British at Gallipoli, August 1915; Chapter 7: Aggregate Failure The Defeat of the American Eighth Army in Korea, November-December 1950; Chapter 8: Catastrophic Failure The French Army and Air Force, May-June 1940; Chapter 9: What Can Be Done?

WHY DO COMPETENT ARMIES FAIL?

• Why did the American-led coalition in Iraq fail to wage a classic counter-insurgency campaign for so long after the fall of Baghdad?

• Why was the sophisticated Israeli intelligence service so thoroughly surprised by the onslaught of combined Arab armies during the Yom Kippur War of 1973?

• 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?

• What made the 1915 British-led invasion of Gallipoli one of the bloodiest catastrophes of the First World War?

Since it was first published in 1990, Military Misfortunes has become the classic analysis of the unexpected catastrophes that befall competent militaries. Now with a new Afterword discussing America's missteps in Iraq, Somalia, and the War on Terror, Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch's gripping battlefield narratives and groundbreaking explanations of the hidden factors that undermine armies are brought thoroughly up to date. As recent events prove, Military Misfortunes will be required reading for as long as armies go to war.

Why do competent armies fail' - Why did the American-led coalition in Iraq fail to wage a classic counter-insurgency campaign for so long after the fall of Baghdad' - Why was the sophisticated Israeli intelligence service so thoroughly surprised by the onslaught of combined Arab armies during the Yom Kippur War of 1973' - 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' - What made the 1915 British-led invasion of Gallipoli one of the bloodiest catastrophes of the First World War' Since it was first published in 1990, Military Misfortunes has become the classic analysis of the unexpected catastrophes that befall competent militaries. Now with a new Afterword discussing America's missteps in Iraq, Somalia, and the War on Terror, Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch's gripping battlefield narratives and groundbreaking explanations of the hidden factors that undermine armies are brought thoroughly up to date. As recent events prove, Military Misfortunes will be required reading for as long as armies go to war Why do competent armies fail? Eliot Cohen and John Gooch explore answers to this question throughout this extensive analysis of unsuccessful military operations.Since it was first published in 1990, Military Misfortunes has become the classic analysis of the unexpected catastrophes that befall competent militaries. Now with a new Afterword discussing America's missteps in Iraq, Somalia, and the War on Terror, Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch's gripping battlefield narratives and groundbreaking explanations of the hidden factors that undermine armies are brought thoroughly up to date. As recent events prove, Military Misfortunes will be required reading for as long as armies go to war. Since it was first published in 1990, Military Misfortunes has become the classic analysis of the unexpected catastrophes that befall competent militaries. Now with a new Afterword discussing America's missteps in Iraq, Somalia, and the War on Terror, Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch's gripping battlefield narratives and groundbreaking explanations of the hidden factors that undermine armies are brought thoroughly up to date. As recent events prove, Military Misfortunes will be required reading for as long as armies go to war.--Book cover Why Misfortune? -- Analyzing Failure -- Failure To Learn : American Antisubmarine Warfare In 1942 -- Failure To Anticipate : Israel Defense Forces On The Suez Front And The Golan Heights, 1973 -- Failure To Adapt : The British At Gallipoli, August 1915 -- Aggregate Failure : The Defeat Of The Aerican Eighth Army In Korea, November-december 1950 -- Catastophic Failure : The Freanch Army And Air Force, May-june 1940 -- What Can Be Done? Eliot A. Cohen, John Gooch. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 247-289) And Index. Rejecting accepted theories for unexpected military disasters, the authors brilliantly analyze disasters of great magnitude. They assert that military misfortune turns not on individual or collective failure but is rooted in the nature of the complex interconnections between men, systems, and organizations. -- Amazon.com Examines the three types of misfortune--failure to learn, to anticipate, and to adapt--and shows their implications in terms of a variety of miltary defeats in the twentieth century. Reprint. 10,000 first printing. WE SHALL BEGIN OUR EXPLORATION of military misfortune by looking at the five explanations most commonly offered by historians trying to account for defeat and disaster on the field of battle.