Flawed Victory: The Arab-Israeli Conflict and The 1982 War in Lebanon

by Trevor N. Dupuy, Paul Martell

Genres: History

247 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Trevor Dupuy attended West Point, graduating in the class of 1938. During World War II he commanded a U.S. Army artillery battalion, a Chinese artillery group, and an artillery detachment from the British 36th Infantry Division. He was always proud of the fact that he had more combat time in Burma than any other American, and received decorations for service or valour from the U.S., British, and Chinese governments. After the war Dupuy served in the United States Department of Defense Operations Division[1] from 1945 to 1947, and as military assistant to the Under Secretary of the Army from 1947 to 1948. He was a member of the original Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) staff in Paris under Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Matthew Ridgway from 1950 to 1952.

It is as a military historian and a theorist that Trevor Dupuy would make a lasting mark on the world. He is perhaps best known for his massive book The Encyclopedia Of Military History (co-written, like many of his books, with his father R. Ernest Dupuy). Starting from the beginning of history and going up the present day the book tries to cover all the major (and minor) military conflicts in world history. Usually each entry (arranged chronologically and by region) gives little more than the names of the commanders and (often) very rough estimates for the size of the forces involved in the campaigns. Dupuy was not afraid of expressing an opinion and he classified some of his subjects as Great Captains (such as Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, Frederick II of Prussia and Napoleon). Like most Western reference works it spends far more time dealing with wars in Europe and the United States than the rest of the world, but it does at least try to cover the entire world. The Encyclopedia Of Military History has been revised (and updated) several times, most recently in 1993. It can be found in the reference section of most American libraries.

Reviews

[Dale Medley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This may be a bit detailed for most readers. Military operations in the 1982 war are described microscopically. Still, I found it worthwhile. Israel enjoyed almost universal support in the West at its inception. That continued until about this time, 1982. When the author discussed 'the big picture,' I thought he addressed it with admirable objectivity. Though I certainly do not approve of the treatment of Palestinians, I do think it's wrong to condemn Israel for this war. Dupuy documents the biased journalistic coverage of the war and makes his point. Press coverage in the US and elsewhere was blatantly false. Many thousand civilians in Lebanon were not killed. On the other hand, Israel is not above blame for some non-combatant deaths. The conclusion is grim. It foretells the situation now. How can this be problem be solved? No one knows.