"This edition first published in the UK 1998"--T.p. verso.

The classic ploys: Cannae 216 BC, the double envelopment / Sean KcKnight; Chancellorsville 1863, the flank attack / Ian Hogg; The second battle of Alamein 1942, the proper application of overwhelming force / Niall Barr -- Surprise: Crécy 1346, surprise against the odds / Matthew Bennett; Cambrai 1917, the new invention / Lloyd Clark; Blitzkrieg 1940, the shock of surprise / Sean McKnight -- Misunderstanding: Waterloo 1815, the limits of enterprise / Niall Barr; Balaklava 1854, the misunderstood order; Gallipoli 1915, too many commanders / G. D. Sheffield -- Mission impossible: Kunersdorf 1759, the failure of reconnaissance / Tim Bean; The first day of the Somme 1916, the great illusion / Lloyd Clark; The battle of the bulge 1944, progressive unreality / Stephen Badsey -- Understanding the enemy: Austerlitz 1805, underestimating Napoleon? / Tim Bean; Isandlwana 1879, dividing your forces / Edmund Yorke; Singapore 1942, the impregnable fortress / Duncan Anderson -- Narrow margins: Gettysburg 1863, the high tide of the confederacy / G.D. Sheffield; The first battle of Ypres 1914, the narrowest margin / Stephen Badsey; Crete 1941, the defeat of both sides / Ian Hogg.