This work focuses on 50 battles that changed the the tide of war. It looks at how the upper hand was gained through twists of fate, such as when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1942. It shows how superior forces were overwhelmed by smaller, well-trained armies, an example cited being the Allied defeat by Turkish troops at Gallipoli in 1915. In all the book covers the past 200 years, from Napoleon's conquest of Europe, through two World Wars, to the Gulf War and the disintegration of Yugoslavia. It also includes detailed strategic and battle plans.