From the fall of Constantinople in the fourth century to the defeats at Little Big Horn, Stalingrad, and Mogadishu, this fascinating history explores the worst military disasters ever . . . and what caused them.

Even the strongest, smartest, best-equipped armies sometimes get it wrong, and these are the biggest military catastrophes in history—remarkable stories of embarrassing and unlikely defeats, technical failures, and miscommunications. The eye-opening accounts go back to Marathon in 490 BC and downfalls in ancient Rome, and proceed through such debacles as the Crusades in Jerusalem during the Dark Ages; the Battle of Bosworth in the Medieval era; the destruction of the Spanish Armada in the early modern period; Antietam and the retreat from Moscow in the Imperial age; and Pearl Harbor, Bravo Two Zero, and Mogadishu in our own, modern times. Each fascinating, highly illustrated account gives a complete analysis of the events leading up to the disaster, followed by studies of the strategies used during the maneuvers and the reasons for their failure. Boxes with key facts present the most important information at a glance.