half of the size of the defending force, Japanese air attacks on the city and lack of water proved decisive. Prime Minister Winston Churchill considered it to be the worst defeat in British military history. Battle of Midway (1942). One of the turning points of World War II ( Pacific Theatre). Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto of the Imperial Japanese Navy planned to invade the American navy base at Midway Island. U.S. Navy intelligence had broken Japan's main naval code and anticipated the attack. Japan lost four fleet carriers in three days, due to ill timing of fuelling and arming of aircraft, American fortitude and good fortune, and, ultimately, poor planning by Yamamoto. Battle of Stalingrad (winter of 1942–43). One of the turning points of World War II ( European Theater). German General Friedrich Paulus failed to keep a mobile strategic reserve and the Sixth Army was surrounded by a rapid Soviet flanking attack. Rubble caused by German bombing and artillery fire left their tanks unable to enter the city. The 250,000+ German troops in Stalingrad surrendered despite Adolf Hitler’s promise that they would never leave the city. Cold War era Battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954). The French Far East Expeditionary Corps advanced deep into northwestern Vietnam near Điện Biên Phủ to cut off the Viet Minh's supply lines from Laos and force it into a confrontation. The Viet Minh besieged the French and smuggled heavy artillery through mountain terrain, preventing resupply by air with anti-aircraft guns. The defeat forced the French Armed Forces to withdraw from North Vietnam in 1954. See also Pyrrhic victory Friendly fire Last stand References Works cited Further reading Military Intelligence Blunders and Cover-Ups, by Colonel Hughes-Wilson John () Geoffrey Regan's Book Of Military Blunders, by Geoffrey Regan () Scottish Military Disasters, by Paul Cowan () Disasters Military