Partly on the strength of their apparent success in insurgencies such as Malaya & Northern Ireland the British armed forces have long been perceived as world class if not world-beating. However their recent performance in Iraq & Afghanistan is widely seen as
- at best
- disappointing; under British control Basra degenerated into a lawless city riven with internecine violence while tactical mistakes & strategic incompetence in Helmand province resulted in heavy civilian & military casualties & a climate of violence & insecurity. In both cases the British were eventually & humiliatingly bailed out by the US army. In this thoughtful & compellingly readable book Frank Ledwidge examines the British involvement in Iraq & Afghanistan asking how & why it went so wrong. With the aid of copious research interviews with senior officers & his own personal experiences he looks in detail at the failures of strategic thinking & culture that led to defeat in Britains latest small wars. This is an eye-opening analysis of the causes of military failure & its enormous costs.