Britain's 20 Worst Military Disasters

From the Roman Conquest to the Fall of Singapore

Britain's biggest military blunders and defeats throughout history, including Hastings, Somme, and Singapore Crecy, Agincourt, Blenheim, Trafalgar, Waterloo, El Alamein—war and history buffs know plenty about the great British military victories, often won against the odds. But what of the defeats and disasters, from Britain's conquest by Roman armies to the fall of Singapore in 1942, described by Churchill as the "worst disaster" in their military history? This is the story of those disasters, and the ones in between, from famous battles like Hastings and Yorktown, to those that are less well-known but had far-reaching consequences, such as Castillon. Others, like the Battle of the Medway in 1667, were deeply shameful—"a dishonor never to be wiped off"—but had relatively little long term impact. Sometimes, a brilliant retreat helped prevent an even greater calamity, as at Gallipoli and Dunkirk. This epic story follows British armies and navies across the world to France, Africa, North and South America, and the Far East. It is a tale of bungling, miscalculation, unpreparedness, and heroism.