“At all costs avoid blame.” Such is the creed of dictators and politicians, tycoons and company chairmen, media celebrities, and spin doctors the world over. But what about men at war, where the penalties for errors of judgment can be devastating? History is full of tales of those who have been wrongly castigated in the rush to find a culprit; only later, sometimes much later, when the real truth comes out, is the scapegoat exonerated. Exposed here are the real stories behind the myths that allow the reader to make a balanced judgment on history’s fairness to the individual, including those of:

Captain Alfred Dreyfus, exiled and imprisoned on charges of treason in 1895
Lieutenant General James Longstreet, blamed for the failure of Pickett’s Charge in 1863
Major General Jackie Smyth, removed from the Army after ordering the destruction of the Sittang Bridge in 1942
Lieutenant General Roméo Dallaire, let down by the United Nations over the Rwanda massacres of 1994

This superbly researched book by a former professional soldier uncovers what might be termed the most disgraceful miscarriages of military justice.


The narrative was lucid, the opinions expert and judicious, the historical background well-informed and relevant. - Professor Sir Michael Howard, OM, CH, CBE

This is history from the inside flawed, confused, frequently dysfunctional which reminds us, nevertheless, that at the heart of great events are human beings whose fate is determined by forces over which they have little or no control. --Magnus Linklater

Well researched and elegantly written ... The author has mined a rich and largely overlooked vein of military history and has done so in a balanced and thoughtful manner ... This book is thoroughly recommended."--The Guards Magazine

Scott, a former commander of the British Army in Scotland, does an excellent job of conveying the details of a variety of military campaigns, spanning several centuries and continents, in an accessible way, in his accounts of men unjustly blamed, and punished, by their country's military." --Publishers Weekly

"[I]t's a splendid book overall. General Scott fishes deep into history, pulling out intriguing minnows and astounding whales of fact that leave the reader both entertained and thoroughly well informed." --Patrick Mercer OBE, The Oldie

"This book was a great pleasure to read, being outside the usual 'required' reading for a particular course of research or study, and so something to relax with and ponder the interesting ideas it throws up." --John Lee, British Commission for Military History