Impossible Victories: Ten Unlikely Battlefield Successes [Paperback]

Bryan Perrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

This "top ten list" covers some of the most unlikely, unexpected, improbable, and even impossible military successes of the past 200 years. With accurate detail and adventurous drama, these accounts highlight the Albuera counterattack in the 1811 Peninsular War, in which Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, considered one of the ablest of France's marshals, lost one-third of his army; and the U.S. Rangers at Pointe du Hoe and Omaha Beach on D-Day when the Allies routed the Nazis. Go with the Rough Riders to Cuba in the wake of the Maine's explosion; this volunteer cavalry stormed San Juan Hill and bluffed 2,000 Spanish troops into surrendering. Among the other battles examined are the Battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane in 1814; the Charges at Beersheba and Huj in Palestine (1917); and the struggle for Hill 875 in South Vietnam. You'll see vividly how most improvements in battle tactics emerge out of necessity when the old tried and true ways have proven to be humiliatingly inadequate.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bryan Perrett left the army as a successful career officer to take up the pen as a full-time writer. Able to write to any brief (he was captioning picture-strips for schoolgirl comics at one point), he found his metier as a military historian and writer of good, fast, episodic, narrative popular histories.His many books, all founded on meticulous research from primary sources, find a wide popular readership. He is the bestselling author in the bestselling C

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sterling Pub Co Inc (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1854094629
• ISBN-13: 978-1854094629
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,306,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten enjoyable accounts of diverse engagements, September 7, 2000

By 

Alexander (Hobbytown, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Impossible Victories: Ten Unlikely Battlefield Successes (Paperback)

This is a very interesting book, which exceeded my expectations. In a single chapter, the author is able to provide insight into the strategic importance of the each individual battle, then goes into enough detail to put the reader at the scene.

The diversity of the chapters, from a Napoleonic conflict to Rangers at D-Day, is a big plus, and things never bog down. My favorite section was the coverage of the Battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane from the War of 1812, a period that I'm not to familiar with.

Reading this book is a breeze, and I'd love to see Perrett release a sequel. Well done...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Victories against great odds., May 10, 2004

By 

Kevin M Quigg (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Impossible Victories: Ten Unlikely Battlefields Successes (Hardcover)

The author Bryan Perrett seeks to give the reader ten unlikely victories which were against great odds. Most of these victories are little heralded in modern history (with the possible exception of the commando raid on Normandy) and so present the reader with fresh perspectives on ten little known battles. All of these are land battles, so those interested in naval history will have to look elsewhere. Such battles described included the taking of the Taku Forts, the march into Palestine by the British, the relieving of Lucknow, a Hill fight in Vietnam. All very relevant, but all little known.
All these victories are relevant, but somehow I lost their relevant importance in the great scheme of history. The author tries to impart this in some of the ten stories, but fails in others. I consider this an average read in history. There are other books out there that cover important battles better.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Platform to Learn About History, June 19, 2006

By 

J. Laffoon "Too Many Good Books to Read!" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Impossible Victories: Ten Unlikely Battlefields Successes (Hardcover)

This is a great book about little known victories that have occurred in mostly unknown conflicts from around the world. The engagements that occurred involving the UK military were especially interesting because I know very little about English military history and the UK military in general. This is also a good read for people looking into just how important the human factor is in combat. In all of these vignettes the outcome of the battle depended less on the tactics involved and more on the human beings who executed the tactics. They all involve men who pushed themselves beyond what they thought they were capable and beyond what their armies thought they were capable of accomplishing. The best thing is that the book leads a reader to want to learn more about the wars surrounding the engagements. Overall this is an interesting and fast read!