Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918–40

Military historian Lyman (The Reconquest of Burma 1944–45) and Dannatt, deemed UK’s foremost military commentator, lay out an exhaustive recounting of how Britain’s military failed to meet the challenges of World War II. That’s after winning World War I with decisive victories attributable to battlefield experience, leadership, and warfighting. The book gives ample evidence of missed opportunities, proof of siloed and sidelined expertise, and the certainty that another large war wouldn’t happen again in Europe. Or if it did, Britain would have time to come up with a plan. After World War I, the army’s primary mission was Imperial defense of the British Empire. This mission left the army unprepared to build, arm, and deploy the British Expeditionary Force that would be required. Another major impediment was financial; politicians and the public were not in favor of increased funding necessary to maintain or modernize the forces, fearing it would be seen as aggression. The authors caution against a new backslide to cut military expenditures against a rise of global threats.