New theories of warfare -- War as pseudoscience : 1920-1939 -- The Maginot Line and Hitler's response -- The tank production myths -- Lessons mislearned : Poland and the winter wars -- The Germans and the Allies prepare for war -- The German assault and the fall of France : May-June 1940 -- The uses and misuses of armor : North Africa, Italy, the Eastern front -- The failure of strategic airpower : 1940-1944 -- Normandy and the breakout at Saint-Lô : summer 1944 -- The breakthrough failures : Arnhem, Metz, Bastogne -- The persistence of failed ideas.