WHY AIR FORCES FAIL: THE ANATOMY OF DEFEAT
Book ID/图书代码： 13012015B79335
English Summary/英文概要： According to Robin Higham and Stephen J. Harris, "Flight has been part of the human dream for aeons, and its military application has likely been the dark side of that dream for almost as long." In the twentieth century, this dream and its dark side unfolded as the air forces of the world went to war, bringing destruction and reassessment with each failure. Why Air Forces Fail examines the complex, often deep-seated, reasons for the catastrophic failures of the air forces of various nations. Higham and Harris divide the air forces into three categories of defeat: forces that never had a chance to win, such as Poland and France; forces that started out victorious but were ultimately defeated, such as Germany and Japan; and finally, those that were defeated in their early efforts yet rose to victory, such as the air forces of Britain and the United States. The contributing authors examine the complex causes of defeats of the Russian, Polish, French, Arab, British, Italian, German, Argentine, and American air services. In all cases, the failures stemmed from deep, usually prewar factors that were shaped by the political, economic, military, and social circumstances in the countries. Defeat also stemmed from the anticipation of future wars, early wartime actions, and the precarious relationship between the doctrine of the military leadership and its execution in the field. Anthony Christopher Cain’s chapter on France’s air force, l’Armée de l’Air, attributes France’s loss to Germany in June 1940 to a lack of preparation and investment in the air force. One major problem was the failure to centralize planning or coordinate a strategy between land and air forces, which was compounded by aborted alliances between France and countries in eastern Europe, especially Poland and Czechoslovakia. In addition, the lack of incentives for design innovation in air technologies led to clashes between airplane manufacturers, laborers, and the government, a struggle that resulted in France’s airplanes’ being outnumbered by Germany’s more than three to one by 1940. Complemented by reading lists and suggestions for further research, Why Air Forces Fail provides groundbreaking studies of the causes of air force defeats.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 用Robin Higham 和 Stephen J. Harris的话说：“飞行是人类永世的梦想，而飞行在军事上的应用则可能成为该梦想黑暗的一面。”20世纪，随着全球空军加入战争，这一梦想（连带着其黑暗的一面）逐步展开，随之而来的是灾难性的毁灭，以及对每一次失利的重新评估。《空军失利剖析》一书详细审视了各国空军惨败背后复杂、深刻的原因。Higham 和 Harris 将失利空军归结为三类：1. 从未有机会获胜的空军（如波兰空军、法国空军），2. 一开始取得胜利但最终落败的空军（如德国空军、日本空军），3. 一开始失利但最终取得胜利的空军（如英国空军、美国空军）。丛集作者还审视了俄国、波兰等各国空军失利背后的复杂原因。整体而言，这些失利都源于深刻的战前因素，受到各国政治、经济、军事等各方面的影响。 此外，失利还源于对未来战争的预期、战争早期行动以及军事领导层的原则与其实地执行之间不确定的关系。加上阅读清单和未来研究建议，《空军失利剖析》为研究空军落败的原因提供了开创性的资料。(LYR)
Awards/获奖情况：“书中包含了许多有趣的阐述和独到的见解。无论是对于军事失利的整体研究，还是针对空军的具体研究，《空军失利剖析》都是一本非常不错的导读类书籍。”—— Francis M. Coan，美国军事历史杂志。
"The book contains many interesting insights and interpretations. Why Air Forces Fail is an excellent introduction to the study of military failure in general and air forces in particular."" -- Francis M. Coan, Journal of America’s Military Past
About the Author/作者介绍： Robin Higham现任堪萨斯州立大学名誉历史学教授，创作及编辑的书达30余本，其中包括《苏联的军事历史》等。Robin Higham, emeritus professor of military history at Kansas State University, was the editor of the journal Aerospace Historian from 1970 to 1988. He is the author of many books, including 100 Years of Air Power and Aviation. Stephen J. Harris is the chief historian at the Directorate of History and Heritage, National Defence Headquarters, Canada.
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