Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War PDF
Preview Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War
“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 WHY DO COMPETENT ARMIES FAIL? • Why did the American-led coalition in Iraq fail to wage a classic counterinsurgency 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. “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 F R E E P R E S S Published by Simon & Schuster New York Cover design by Todd Robertson Cover photograph © Corbis Register online at www.SimonandSchuster.com for more information on this and other great books. ALSO BY ELIOT A. COHEN Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime FREE PRESS A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com Copyright © 1990 by The Free Press All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. First Free Press paperback edition 2006 FREE PRESS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cohen, Eliot A. Military misfortunes : the anatomy of failure in war / Eliot A. Cohen, John Gooch. p. cm. “Originally published in hardcover by The Free Press . . . New York, 1990”—T.p. verso. 1. Military art and science—History—20th century. 2. Military history, Modern—20th history, Modern—20th century. I. Gooch, John. II. Title. [U42.C56 1991] 355.4’8’0904—dc20 90–50491 ISBN-13: 978-0-02-906060-5 ISBN-10: 0-02-906060-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-8082-2 (Pbk) ISBN-10: 0-7432-8082-2 (Pbk) eISBN-13: 978-1-43913548-8 Thank you for purchasing this Free Press Books eBook. Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Free Press Books and Simon & Schuster. or visit us online to sign up at eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com Contents Preface 1. Why Misfortune? 2. Understanding Disaster 3. Analyzing Failure 4. Failure to Learn American Antisubmarine Warfare in 1942 5. Failure to Anticipate Israel Defense Forces on the Suez Front and the Golan Heights, 1973 6. Failure to Adapt The British at Gallipoli, August 1915 7. Aggregate Failure The Defeat of the American Eighth Army in Korea, November— December 1950 8. Catastrophic Failure The French Army and Air Force, May–June 1940 9. What Can Be Done? Afterword Notes Index
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