Forgotten Soldiers

Description

Forgotten Soldiers is an enthralling work of military history that shows how the courage, intelligence or simple good fortune of the individual can exert a decisive influence on the outcome of a battle or campaign. It tells the stories of fifteen unsung heroes, none of a rank higher than major, whose deeds changed the course of important battles and - arguably - the course of history. These vivid and gripping accounts - largely drawn from the Second World War, but with tales too from other conflicts - have each been selected to illustrate one of the dictums of the great Prussian theorist of war, Carl von Clausewitz, about the importance of having the right man in the right place at the right time. From the Roman standard bearer who plunged into the waves off Deal in 55 BC, saving Julius Caesar's military honour and political career, to the young Israeli tank lieutenant who almost single-handedly stalled the advancing Syrian armour in 1973, these are above all tales of courage. But it is not just courage that wins wars, as these stories demonstrate: such elements as surprise, determination, good intelligence, chance, insight, inventiveness and clear thinking all play their parts in eventual victory. And it may only take one man, often of lowly rank, his name largely forgotten, to embody such qualities for the effect to be felt around the world.

Brian Moynahan was a foreign correspondent and latterly European Editor with The Sunday Times. He covered three of the conflicts in this book: Vietnam, Borneo and Yom Kippur: an incident he witnessed in the early days of the Vietnam War sparked his interest in the impact that can be made by a single soldier. His books include The Russian Century (1995), The Claws of the Bear (1989), The Faith: A history of Christianity, and If God Spare My Life, a biography of William Tyndale.

Many insights...are at the heart of Brian Moynahan's Forgotten Soldiers...It is the value of this book to show how the individual can still have a decisive impact - General Sir Mike Jackson, Daily TelegraphAn excellent study of war at the sharp end - Mail on Sunday