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Vanquished By Mir Bahmanyar

Vanquished

Crushing Defeats from Ancient Rome to the 21st Century

by Mir Bahmanyar

Mem. Ed. $9.99

Pub. Ed. $29.95

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Vanquished

Battles of annihilation are rare, but a stunning victory on the battlefield has the potential to change history. Some argue that it is not possible to completely destroy the enemy, although history suggests otherwise. The battle of Cannae in 216 BC, where Hannibal destroyed an entire Roman army, has inspired generations of military thinkers to attempt to imitate this feat.

In Vanquished, Mir Bahmanyar examines battles of annihilation throughout history to discover what sets these engagements apart, whether they achieve a decisive strategic advantage, and why there are fewer battles of annihilation in modern times. Illustrated with maps, schematics and illustrations, Vanquished takes a fascinating look at combat from a unique angle.

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, Ltd. ( November 01, 2009 )

Item #: 35-8867

ISBN: 9781846033478

Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.5 x 0.8 inches

Product Weight: 45.0 ounces

Only the first half is readable
August 08, 2010

I will echo the previous review in that the author's premise was unsupported by the latter half of the book. After Jugdulluck, one might as well skip the rest of the book. An increasingly superficial treatment combined with increasing infusions of political correctness becomes apparent with the chapter on Jugdulluck, so that, by the time we reach the end of the book, we are left with something better suited to a Time or Newsweek article. The author has a very unconvincing rationale for leaving out numerous 20th century battles of annihilation that I believe should have been included, such as Stalingrad, Tarawa and Dien Bien Phu. For this omission he blames limited space, yet fills the latter half of the book with multiple "quicky" chapters better suited to a magazine. His justification for ignoring these battles is equally thin: there has already been much written on these battles - go look it up. Why, then, include Cannae, Zama, and Jena-Auerstadt? As an overview of pivotal battles of annihilation, the first half of the book is quite readable. The latter half is a waste of the reader's time, and actually becomes offensive because of that.

Reviewer: Steven C

Vanquished Falls Short
January 20, 2010

Mir Bahmanyar's Vanquished attempts to present case studies that demonstrate historical examples where an army or military unit is completely annihilated. Although at times Bahmanyar's vivid historical examples support his argument, several chapters fail to provide enough information on the graduate or post-graduate level of military historical study. During the first several chapters of Vanquished, it becomes apparent that the author makes a convincing argument using examples from defeats and victories incurred by the Roman military. However, as the book progresses, one gains the sense that the author's argument begins to wain and instead of 17 historical examples used, the author should have consolidated his argument. For example, the first two chapters of the book provide significant detail concerning the battles of Cannae and Zama. In fact, using these two examples, the author uses over 45+ different sources to support his argument. However, the chapters regarding the battle of the Alamo and Little Big Horn contain less detail and the author only used about 10 sources, including one from Wikipedia, for support. The undergraduate student and the general population can use this work as a starting point for military case studies. However, graduate and post-graduate students will find several chapters difficult to use due to the lack of sources. In addition, some graduate students might be hesitant to use a source that cites information from an online encyclopedia.

Reviewer: Michael F

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