A compelling narrative of 12 military expeditions from 1745 to 1993 in which advanced armies suffered calamitous defeats at the hands of lesser forces. Riveting battle stories include the French and Indian War, the Fall of Khartoum, the Mesopotamian campaign in WWI and the recent debacle in Somalia. Primary source material such as diaries of soldiers, papers, and memoirs of the generals and contemporary newspaper accounts vividly bring the engagements to life.