History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach

Explore pivotal incidents of catastrophic failure in battle and consider how these errors changed the course of history in this fascinating 24-lesson series.

• By This Professor
• 01: Petersburg: Union Digs Its Own Grave-1864
• 02: Syracuse: Athens's Second Front-413 B.C.
• 03: Carrhae: The Parthian Shot-53 B.C.
• 04: Red Cliffs: Cao Cao's Bad Day-208 A.D.
• 05: Barbarian Gate: Adrianople-378, Pliska-811
• 06: Fourth Crusade: Byzantium Betrayed-1204
• 07: Kalka River: Genghis Khan's General-1223
• 08: Courtrai: Knights versus Shopkeepers-1302
• 09: Nagashino: Taking Swords to a Gunfight-1575
• 10: Cartagena: High Walls, Short Ladders-1741
• 11: Culloden: The Bonnie Prince Blunders-1746
• 12: Russia: Napoleon Retreats in the Snow-1812
• 13: Afghanistan: Khyber Pass Death Trap-1842
• 14: Crimea: Charge of the Light Brigade-1854
• 15: Greasy Grass: Custer's Last Stand-1876
• 16: Isandlwana: 25,000 Zulus Undetected-1879
• 17: Adwa: Italy's Fiasco in Ethiopia-1896
• 18: Colenso: The Second Boer War-1899
• 19: Tannenberg: Ineptitude in the East-1914
• 20: Gallipoli: Churchill Dooms Allied Assault-1915
• 21: World War II: Royal Navy Goes Down-1941-42
• 22: Dieppe Raid: Catastrophe on the Beach-1942
• 23: Operation Market Garden: A Bridge Too Far-1944
• 24: The Great Blunders: Four Paths to Failure