DECISIVE BATTLES; THE TURNING POINT OF WORLD WAR II. by Cacutt, Len.

Scarce.

DECISIVE BATTLES; THE TURNING POINT OF WORLD WAR II. by Cacutt, Len. 

Hardcover, ISBN 9780863076237
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish, 1986
Used - Very Good+. Protected with a Cellophane Cover.

It has been said that the history of war is always written by the victor, and to a certain extent it must be true.  It is part of the price paid by the loser.  The battles in this volume were not, however, selected through any desire to glorify the vanquisher, or to prove the tactical brilliance of one commander over another, but to show that set-piece battles can be won, even on the brink of defeat, by some intuitive stratagem that catches the enemy off guard.  Determination and flair, too, have played their part, as was shown by the Germans in Crete in 1941. 

With the benefit of hindsight many of the important decisions made during World War II are difficult to understand.  Why was the great German battleship Graf Spee blown up and scuttled in the mouth of the River Plate when she had enough firepower to destroy the Royal Navy opposition?  Why were all the signs that Pearl Harbor was about to be attacked blithely ignored?  And what made Adolf Hitler decide to bomb London when his most effective tactic was to make sure that the RAF was finished first?  

Each of the five long years in that conflict saw a carefully planned action go awry and fail due to the opposing forces carrying out some unexpected manoeuvre.  On the other hand, there was still the need for war’s worst face – sheer, brutal, crushing force, amply described and seen at Iwo Jima.

 All the land, sea and air battles described in this book have one of those fascinating elements; each resulted in the eventual outcome of the war being affected by the result.  Today’s commanders, should the terrible moment ever arrive, will need to be aware, and no doubt are, that the enemy will think of something different.  It will always be that way.