History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach
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History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach
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Narrated by:
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Gregory S. Aldrete
About this listen
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How could an army equipped with cannon be wiped out by Zulu warriors wielding spears and outdated firearms?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 CoursesWhat listeners say about History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kevin Magee
- 19-05-2018
A great find
By focusing the ‘bad practises’ of leadership and strategy that contributed to some of the greatest and most world defining military defeats rather than the practise of the victors, Professor Aldrete’s brings a fresh take on known events that shows them in a completely new light. His insights and explanation of from this new angle of the historic events and their background, circumstances, causes and consequences is fascinating, educational and at uplifting. This is a audio series I highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-09-2022
Gregory S. Aldrete for the win!
I have listened to everyone of Gregory S. Aldrete's lectures. His passion for his subject shines through every topic.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 20-11-2018
Great book
very interesting but can be hard to follow at times given the content as most blunders become a mess but he makes it easy enough to follow with the structure of his lectures.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Gege
- 13-10-2022
Yep, It's History
Hard to review someone's interpretation of history. However, the discussion points put, are clear and concise. I enjoyed it, and possibly even learnt stuff. If this is your cup of tea, you will learn something.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anne Hawi Josiah
- 23-06-2019
Alexander the Great, did not die of an arrow.
Hi there, seems to be some incorrect information about the dead of alexander the great at lecture 24. Its mentioned here he died during a seige in combat.
I only hear from other historians he died of a supposed fever, potential poisoning in his bed.
Please look into thank you
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-04-2020
Great book, excellent presentation
Really great listen,thorougjlty enjoyed the presentation and the delivery was excellent.Definetly worth the listen if you are interested in military studies.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-05-2022
Style of speech detracts
The lecturer is clearly very knowledgeable but his strange halting style of speech, with pauses at odd points of a sentence is extremely distracting. His constant mispronunciation of Culloden is really inexcusable.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 19-06-2017
Brit bashing more important than interesting
I like the way this lecturer provides information and insight but of 23 lectures, 10 are examples of British “blunders”.
There are more interesting, more relevant, more significant battles and blunders in 3000+ years of warfare than some of the examples used here. After a while, it just comes across as though the lecturer has a chip on his shoulder.
I’d recommend other titles by this lecturer, but perhaps not this one if you’re British.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 14-05-2018
Great Material but Presentaion Unlistenable.
THIS.. presentation "has" , weird pausing...mEANingless emphasis (Based) on timing or just completely raNdom. sadly this RENDERS the entire presentation.....completely InCoMPREhensible. Shame because the underlying script is sound.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lachlan
- 29-09-2019
Narrator is awful
He can't... string more than... three words... together. I couldn't listen for more than 3mins.
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1 person found this helpful