Lucky Hitler's Big Mistakes

by Paul Ballard-Whyte

Overview

Adolf Hitler’s Great War military experiences in no way qualified him for supreme command. Yet by July 1940, under his personal leadership the Third Reich’s armed forces had defeated Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and France. The invasion of Great Britain was a distinct reality following Dunkirk. Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania had become allies along with the acquiescent military powers of Mussolini’s Italy and Franco’s Spain. These achievements prompted Field Marshal Willem Keitel, the Wehrmacht’s Chief of Staff, to pronounce Hitler to be ‘the Greatest Commander of all time’.

Storm clouds were gathering, most notably the disastrous decision to tear up the treaty with the Soviet Union and launch Operation Barbarossa in 1941. As described in this meticulously researched and highly readable book, Hitler’s blind ideology, racist hatred and single-mindedness led him and his allies inexorably to devastating defeat. How far was it good luck that gave Hitler his sensational early political and military successes? Certainly fortune played a major role in his survival from many assassination attempts and sex scandals. The author concludes, from 1941 onwards, the Fuhrer’s downfall was entirely attributable to military misjudgments that he alone made.

Lucky: Hitler’s Big Mistakes exposes the enigmatic Dictator for what he really was – incredibly lucky and militarily incompetent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781399074377
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	11/18/2022
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	637,655
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

Editorial Reviews

"'Congratulations to Paul Ballard-Whyte on this well-researched, well-written and thought-provoking book, which could not have been published at a more apposite time."

Andrew Roberts

"[A] well researched analysis of Hitler's military judgment, strengths and weaknesses."

The Telegraph

"There is much to grab the reader by the collar and hold their attention. The plotline is gripping and the explanation of political and military tactics — which could so easily have been dull or led to information overwhelm — was excellent. I can’t imagine any reader becoming bored by this narrative or leaving the book unfinished."

Stephanie J. Hale

"In my humble opinion, it’s a superb work, and I am really happy to have read it."

Arcangelo Germanò

"With this book, Paul Ballard-Whyte has proved his ability to walk the fine line between classroom practitioner and distinguished author, putting his very original slant on how it was that Adolf Hitler came so close to, and yet so far from, conquering Europe."

Philip Fawkes

"An excellent book - highly recommended."

Anthony Tucker-Jones

"The author paints a portrait of Adolf Hitler as having made the same fatal errors of judgment as Napoleon in their quest for world domination. An absolutely fascinating account of how everything finally went wrong for the Fuhrer. Brilliant."

Books Monthly

"The book raises a number of interesting points and its assertions are well made. It pokes holes in the mythology surrounding Hitler, showing him to be a twisted and hateful yet ultimately very human and flawed person."

Warfare History Network

"If you ever wondered why Hitler got so far and then utterly failed, just read this book. It’s totally captivating and full of learning. Hitler the evil genius – but not militarily."

Marcus Ferrar

"The author considers how Hitler narrowly avoided a series of sex scandals and an even longer series of assassination attempts, and consolidated his power by surrounding himself with a group of ‘yes men’."

WWII Today

"...a valued and valuable inclusion for both community and academic library World War II History/Biography collections and a critically important addition to supplemental curriculum Adolph Hitler studies lists."

Midwest Book Review

"Teacher Paul Ballard-Whyte has written an unusual expose of Adolf Hitler’s life, looking at the role played by luck – or lack of it."

The Oxford Times

"Every one of the 280-odd pages in the book is full of information, both new and revisited known facts, backed up by data, strengthened by historic quotes, and lightened up by an abundance of relevant illustrations and photos. The author even went to the extent of providing a brief profile to each of the characters that he mentions in various chapters of his book which he completes with a very thorough bibliography."

Ilham Aliyev