How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History

The Hinge Factor

Erik Durschmied

• Publisher: Arcade
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781628726435
• eBook ISBN:
  9781628726442
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

From the Trojan Horse to a photograph snapped in Vietnam, world history has been shaped as much by chance and error as by courage and heroism. Despite impossible odds, invincible armies fall in bitter defeat to weaker opponents. How and why does this happen? What decides the fate of battle? In this fascinating book, Erik Durschmied takes us through the major conflicts of history—from Agincourt to the Civil War, from Crimea to the Gulf War—and reveals how, in war, it is the improbable and the inconceivable that determine events.Writing with the style and flair that made him an award-winning war correspondent, Durschmied explores the fistful of nails that could have won Waterloo for Napoleon; the barrel of schnapps that proved disastrous for an Austrian emperor; and the three cigars that changes the course of Antietam; and many other instances when chance decided history's path. Conflicts are decided by the caprice of weather, erroneous intelligence, unlikely heroism, strange coincidence, or individual incompetence—in short, by the unpredictable "hinge factor."Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Prologue
• Preface to the 2016 Edition
• 1. A Wooden Horse: Troy, 1184 BC
• 2. The Loss of the True Cross: The Horns of Hattin, 4 July 1187
• 3. A Rabble with Bare Feet: Agincourt, 25 October 1415
• 4. A Barrel of Schnapps: Karansebes, 20 September 1788
• 5. A Fistful of Nails: Waterloo, 18 June 1815
• 6. The Fourth Order: Balaclava, 25 October 1854
• 7. Three Cigars: Antietam, 17 September 1862
• 8. Two Counts and One Prince: Königgrätz, 3 July 1866
• 9. A Fair Fight: Spioen Kop, 24 January 1900
• 10. A Slap on the Face: Tannenberg, 28 August 1914
• 11. The Sting of a Bee: Tanga, 5 November 1914
• 12. Der Halte Befehl: France, 21 May 1940
• 13. A Shark on the Loose: North Atlantic, 27 May 1941
• 14. The Sorge Enigma: Moscow, 6 December 1941
• 15. One Man’s Death: Vietnam, 31 January 1968
• 16. And the Wall Came Tumbling Down: Berlin, 9 November 1989
• 17. The Zero Factor: The Gulf, 17 January 1991
• Epilogue
• Bibliography