This atlas contains 36 specially-commissioned maps, as well as in-depth essays contrasting some of the great battle plans with their actual outcome. There are 18 battles featured including:
- The Classic Ploys: Cannae, Chancellorsville, Alamein
- Surprise: Crecy, Cambrai, Blitzkrieg
- Misunderstanding: Waterloo, Balaklava, Gallipoli
- Mission Impossible: Kunersdorf, First Day of the Somme, Battle of the Bulge
- Underestimating the Enemy: Austerlitz, Isandlwana, Singapore
- Narrow Margins: Gettysberg, First Battle of Ypres, Crete.
- and much more useful information.
