History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach

By: The Great Courses, Gregory S. Aldrete

Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete

Military history often highlights successes and suggests a sense of inevitability about victory, but there is so much that can be gleaned from considering failures. Study these crucibles of history to gain a better understanding of why a civilization took - or didn't take - a particular path. Full of dramatic reversals of fortune and colorful characters, this course examines some of the world's most notable examples of military misfortune, from the humiliating destruction of a Roman army at Carrhae in 53 BC to the tragic landings at Gallipoli in World War I. Success and failure, as you'll learn, are two sides of the same coin.

These 24 lectures reveal how the trajectory of history hangs in the balance of individual battles; even a single person's actions in a particular moment have made drastic and irreversible impacts. From ancient Greece through global war during the first half of the 20th century, you'll delve into infamous conflicts such as the Charge of the Light Brigade and the Battle of Little Bighorn as well as lesser-known battles.

How could an army equipped with cannon be wiped out by Zulu warriors wielding spears and outdated firearms? How could armored French knights be vulnerable to the crude weapons of a band of Flemish shopkeepers? Why would a savvy Chinese general fall victim to a tactic he had previously used himself? Unpredictable twists of fate abound, demonstrating that when it comes to war, there are no givens. Sheer numbers, superior weaponry, and skilled leadership are never a guarantee of success.

Take a fascinating journey through some of the most gloriously inglorious wartime encounters. Along the way, you'll get to know some of the most legendary characters in world history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2015 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2015 The Great Courses

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incredible stories with clear lessons that can be reframed to apply to business and life.

Informative and insightful except...

If you can get over the saying “debacle” with a short “a”, you will truly enjoy listening to these outliers from history.

Excellent series of lectures.

Well woth the listen, i loved it.

The lecturer cannot pronouce debacle though. Which was annoying.

But the material is so good that is the only criticisn

Good Historical Review

This was well organized and effectively communicated. A spectrum of military blunders was provided and the analysis for each was sound. Very entertaining for military history buffs.

Hubris or stupidity, doesn’t matter when you lose.

Another great class from the Great Courses. This time is an in depth look at 24 different blunders made by different militaries/leaders from ancient history to more recent times.

Whether its mistakes made by Roman commanders, or British Army officers in India it doesn’t matter. Bad leaders get moved up the ranks and cause the result you expect. Often times without permanent injury to their own career (barring people like Custer of course).

Each 30 minute lecture is an excellent overview of a specific event. The details of each blunder is precise, and Dr. Aldrete gives a lot of support and explanation of the surrounding circumstances. There were a few blunders I knew about, and a lot I didn’t.

He presents an intriguing class, with a well worded, well performed voice, without being too distracting. I enjoyed the whole thing. I definitely recommend this great course, and I also am pretty sure I recommend Dr. Gregory Aldrete, at least for historical courses.

Narrator is terrible

Narrator over enunciates every other word. Reads the sentences as if every third word has a comma after it. Just makes it hard to enjoy the story. Sorry -not sure I can continue and I am only 2 hrs into the book!!

Really have to pay attention, lots to learn

This is NOT a book for the car journeys.
Every time i listened to this, I had to really concentrate.

There's lot of amazing information, lots of examples, and the Professor works through the reasons WHY they were blunders rather than just defeats and explains very adeptly how you might learn from these in future campaigns.

Ultimately of course, it seems people don't learn from history, even though the main message is that they should.
The common themes are failure of planning, leadership, execution & adaptation.

Each of the Chapters contain a certain battle throughout history, and the Professor takes time to explain the particular situation, environment, and the thinking which was pertinent at the time, plus how a culture may have viewed itself and others, thus showing in the end HOW one should learn from those lessons, and why it was terrible in the 1st place.

I would advise taking notes, because not only is it interesting for anyone that loves military strategy, and the intrigue these stories bring, but you can also relate some of these lessons to every day life.

Enlightening

Great insight to major "oops" of military initiatives. Would reccomend for history buffs. If only contemporary strategists ccould/ would learn from the past.

Learn from history so you may not repeat it.

The lectures provide a good insight into many moments in military history that allow to simultaneously learn about historical events and also about strategy and human nature.
I've enjoyed it and recommend it.

history forgotten causes casualties

amazed at how personalities were so often cause of disasters. poor communication close second. probably related.