Introduces the catastrophic missteps in World War II, including: Poland's lack of preparation for the Nazi invasion; Germany's failure to take Britain out of the war at Dunkirk; Russia playing Goliath to Finland's David; allied forces getting trapped for four months on the beaches of Anzio; and, Germany wasting its costly development of jet power.

An engrossing and fact-filled collection of the great screwups of the Great WarNever had there been a war on the scale of World War II—a global conflict so widespread and involving so many different military organizations from such a diverse pool of combatant countries that the consequences of every decision, both the brilliant and the bad, were multiplied one hundredfold. Bill Fawcett, popular chronicler of monumental military mistakes and truly boneheaded battlefield blunders now looks closely at the historic errors that ultimately determined the course of post-WWII history. A cornucopia of catastrophic missteps, including:An unprepared Poland is caught napping as the Nazis storm in virtually unopposed Germany misses a golden opportunity to take Britain out of the war at Dunkirk Russia plays Goliath to Finland's David Four valuable months are wasted as Allied forces sit trapped on the beaches of Anzio Germany squanders its costly development of jet powerThe secret 1942 battle Marshal Zhukov lost, along with half a million soldiersBattles lost that should have been won, including Moscow, Stalingrad, and D-Day

"Fawcett gathers 37 concise, analytical, finger-pointing accounts of these and other battles from ancient times to the late 1960s. He and contributors Brian Thomsen, William R. Forstchen, Douglas Niles and Edward E. Kramer readably and insightfully convey a wide knowledge of military history." -- Publishers Weekly "Informative and enjoyable...This book will appeal to both general readers and amateur military historians." -- Booklist "I recommend it to the armchair strategist and indeed to any student of military history over the ages." -- Esprit de Corp