Days of Infamy: Military Blunders Of The 20th Century

by Michael Coffey, Mike Wallace

History buffs will covet this fascinating look behind more than fifty of the most historic military blunders of our century. Lively and engaging, in-depth and informative, this companion to an upcoming series on the History Channel goes beyond mere footage to delve into the facts of some well-remembered but little understood incidents and accidents of modern military history.From basic errors of human judgment to massive miscalculations involving men, machines, and seemingly unrelated events, here are inside stories of bravery and misplaced bravado that take readers from the turn of the century through two world wars, the Cold War, and the strife in the Middle East, including:
-- How the London Blitz really started
-- Hitler's blunder at Stalingrad
-- The failure of Japanese secret weapons
-- How we barely escaped nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis

Offering a unique look back on our century's failures and successes at war, on land and at sea, Days of Infamy will win a permanent place in every bookseller's history section, and on every history fan's shelf.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, Military History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 1999

About the author

Michael Coffey received his B.A. in English at the University of Notre Dame and an M.A. from Leeds University in Anglo-Irish Literature. Former co-editorial director at Publishers Weekly, he has published three books of poems, a collection of short stories, a book about baseball’s perfect games, and co-edited a book about Irish immigration to America.

Reviews

[V&C Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesante obra sobre los equivocaciones estratégicas cometidas en la segunda guerra mundial por todos los bandos en las que detalla de manera bastante exacta los efectivos con los que contaba cada grupo y el número de bajas que sufrían en cada enfrentamiento así como las causas de la derrota en cada conflicto.

Si te gustan la estrategia militar este es un libro que te gustará.

[Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mistakes. None of us like to make them; all of us have suffered the consequences of some of our bigger ones. Maybe we’ve even found some benefit that might not have occurred had it not been for our mistakes. But what happens when militaries around the world make mistakes? That’s what Michael Coffey looks at in this highly entertaining, highly readable book about military blunders of the 20th century. Some of these were memorable and new to me.

Is it possible that a world war began because a chauffeur took a wrong turn? Seems incredible and over simplified, but it’s possible that an assassin’s bullet would never have found Duke Ferdinand in 1914 had his driver not inadvertently taken a wrong turn while driving him to a hospital.

You’ll be intrigued by some of the military mistakes that resulted in unexpected outcomes. The book looks at Hitler’s obsession with defeating Russia and how that obsession contributed to his downfall. Douglas McArthur was positive the Chinese were bluffing when they warned against American troop movement past a certain point during the Korean War. They weren’t bluffing. You’ll painfully relive the 1980 debacle in the desert when the U.S. military lost lives and equipment while trying to rescue hostages from Iran. You’ll read about Saddam Hussein’s underestimation of the Arab world when he invaded Kuwait, and the Saudis welcomed American troops to airbases in their country.

The book chronicles Kennedy’s disaster at the Bay of Pigs, and it focuses on a much lesser known (to me at least) 1966 air accident over Spain that forced bombers to release four nuclear bombs. The United States eventually recovered the bombs, but it lost some serious prestige in the process.

That’s just a random sample of some of the military mistakes of the 20th century the author includes. The vignettes are short, so if you get fatigued reading about the mistakes of others, you can dip in and out of this.

[GreyIC · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written and minimally sourced with several factual errors. Examples:
- Stating that the Bismark was sunk in port in Norway (p.132). The Bismark was sunk at sea. This is perhaps confused with the Tirpitz, which was sunk at port in Norway but in 1944 rather than 1941.
- Stating the invasion of Okinawa took place in 1944 (p.209). The Battle of Okinawa was in 1945.

There is information to learn and if the book sparks the reader's further interest in one or more of the events glossed over within, then there is value here.

[Stanley Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book about a few military blunders occurring in the 20th century. Coffey picked a representative few of the many blunders that occurred in the 20th century. I believe he could have given more detail regarding each of the mistakes that he decided to concentrate in his work. Decent book, not one I would highly recommend but definitely would suggest anyone concerned with military history should peruse this work...

[Pedro Segurola López · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante, me gustaron (y sorprendieron) algunas historias.

[Ashish Vyas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book which tells the often untold stories of war, blunders and hubris that shapes the outcome. Gives an insight to psychology of war

[Jbussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read about half of this and got tired. I mean I like it and everything but it does get old. I'll get back to it eventually.

[Bryan]

History Channel fans will enjoy this easy to read companion.: It has been said people go to watch car races in order to see the wrecks. Following that line of reasoning, the History Channel introduced a documentary series entitled Military Blunders. The companion book of the same name authored by Michael Coffey offers the same anecdotes, and the same paradigm, of the televised series.

Military Blunders examines wartime efforts that failed, beginning with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and ending with the invasion of Kuwait. The decidedly twentieth century focus of the book lends itself to the fact that wartime motion picture records came into existence following the turn of the century, and television documentaries are generally more appreciative of motion picture records than written ones.

Thus, the marketing force of presenting military history from a "blundering" point of view is a strong and visual one. Mistakes in wartime are common. Those interested in playing games of "what if" will find this tome fascinating. What if the Archduke Ferdinand's driver had not taken a wrong turn down a Sarajevo street? Also, some mistakes lend an eerie quality of mystery. Case in point: The last flight of the Lady Be Good, an American B-24 that disappeared in the Libyan desert during WWII. Its wreckage and the remains of her crew were discovered years later by a British oil exploration outfit.

Offered in short, easy to digest anecdotal chunks, the book proffers an easy to read litany of historical anecdotes. A handful of photographs in the center of the book help give visual backup to the tales inside. Fans of the History Channel and military history buffs everywhere should enjoy this well written and interesting book.

[Nicole Marble · Rating 5 out of 5]

We seem to have more books these days about how we are not as perfect and invincible as we thought we were. This is about our military blunders. Which reminds me of the t-shirts I see around town that show the American flag with the caption - "These colors don't run". Well, they have and they do. We have run from Vietnam and Beirut and lots of other ill advised adventures. One must always honor the courage of soldiers - but one must also deeply question those who give them orders.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently re-read this as it has been quite a few years since I last read it in my early teens. Being that it is a companion book to the History Channel documentary series of the same name that aired in the late 1990s, it's quite readable. About a half-dozen pages dedicated to each blunder that follows the narration scripts from the series somewhat faithfully depending on which blunder it is. As a history book though, it's not bad but it it's not great either.

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok history, nothing great.

[Nick Tredennick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weak pos-hoc analysis of wartime decisions.