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Kenneth Macksey
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MILITARY ERRORS OF WWII (Cassell Military Paperbacks) Paperback – June 19, 2004

by Kenneth Macksey (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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Wars and combats without mistakes are unknown. This collection of sixteen specific blunders from the Second World War includes Hitler’s postponement of the ‘invasion of Britain’, ineptitude in the Western Desert, the Arnhem debacle and Japanese errors in the Pacific. Here Kenneth Macksey shows how greed, arrogance, and complacency contributed to some of the worst defeats of the war.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Cassell
  4. Publication date
    June 19, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0304350834
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0304350834
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cassell; Reprint edition (June 19, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0304350834
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0304350834
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

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Kenneth Macksey

Kenneth Macksey

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017
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Brilliant condition well written highly recommended
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John Matlock
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Start on an Interesting Topic
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2006
The only trouble with writing a book on the errors made in WW II, is deciding which ones to throw out. The amazing thing is that after all was over, we won.

The book is well organized and tries to apply some structure to the errors, but it could easily be twice its size. For instance where is Kasserine Pass, the Hurtgen Forest, the whole strategic bomber campaign (well, part of that is covered here), Operation Cobra (where the highest ranking American officer, Lt. Gen. McNair, was killed by our own Air Corps).
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Bryan Tagas
3.0 out of 5 stars Imperfect in many ways
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2012
As other reviewers have noted, Macksey provides a starting point for an analysis of some of the errors made in WWII, but by no means is this book comprehensive, either in terms of the important military mistakes or with regard to the full scope of the global conflagration. The book is both British-centric (with a lot of unnecessary discussion of the sideshow in North Africa) and Euro-centric (with very little time spent on the war in the Pacific). The bibliography provides a clue as to why the author spends so much time (perhaps a quarter of the book) on the air campaign over the Continent, especially the British night-bombing efforts. He read three books on the subject, and apparently did very little research concerning the Japanese or American air efforts in that other major theatre of the war. While HItler's political/military decision to invade Russia is given some analysis, there is scant discussion of Hitler's equally crazy decision to declare war on the United States simply because he had earlier promised Japan he would do so if they did. He certainly went back on other promises, and it is unclear that a German war with America was the inevitable outcome of Pearl Harbor. Macksey, however, does have some good insights, so if you're interested in the subject you can start here.
One person found this helpful
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Simon Andrews
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good place to start
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2000
Whilst other reviews might criticise this book for not going into enough detail, it does work out as either a good foundation for further study, or simply as an interesting insight. It covers most aspects of the war, providing unbiased and clear points, with summaries to help simplify the arguments. It demonstrates the sudden changes and shocks that this new, technological world war presented each of the powers, particularly the stubborn Japanese Imperial code, and how the ordinary soldier was affected, often fatally. The book presents a range of careful individual personal profiles, mirroring the events, that so-often suffered from similar flaws, and in turns leads to an intriguing summary of the simple problems that were magnified into major flaws in planning and procedure. This is a good textbook, or a good read.
6 people found this helpful
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Ferenc KOLONITS
3.0 out of 5 stars A short question to the Author
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2000
I read the book in Hungarian translation (ed. by Alexandra, Pécs, Hungary) and have found it interesting and informative. However:
1. the vacillating behaviour of Adms Inouje&Takagi in Coral Sea Battle is compared with that of Nagumo in Pearl Harbor action and this all is said to be well beyond to the example set at Tsushima by late short-sighted Adm. Togo. Well, everybody has the right to like or dislike Japanese of near or late past, I were, however, grateful to the author for giving even a piece of evidence of vacillating or short-sightedness of Togo(Last but not least: a good one-third of enemy ships succeeded in taking the leeway at Trafalgar, while at Tsushima no capital Russian ship remained afloat. What about Nelson, then?)
2. The picture presented here as VAdm Fukudome, had been published elsewhere (in an excellent overview on Great Sea Battles of XX. Century)as VAdm Kurita.
Sure, they could be consequences of translation, but such a valuable book is worth to a closer look. Just this is I tried to do. Sincerely: KF.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

deidre m
5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL BOOK
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
My husband bought this book and this one was sent as a gift for a friend so he can keep his own. It arrived promptly and his friend was thrilled.
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Larry Sales
5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest of Military Screwups
Reviewed in Canada on January 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
I go through many copies of this book as I usually give them away for friends and other military people to read.
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