Eighty years ago, Britain stood at the brink of defeat. In 1942, a string of military disasters engulfed Britain in rapid succession : the collapse in Malaya, the biggest surrender in British history at Singapore, the passing of three large German warships through the Straits of Dover in broad daylight, the longest ever retreat through Burma to the gates of India, serious losses to Rommel's forces in North Africa, the siege of Malta and the surrender at Tobruk. 1942 Britain At the Brink explores the story of frustration and despair that prompted the Prime Minister to demand of his army chief 'Have you not got a single general who can win battles?' Most people think that Britain's worst moment of the war was in 1940 when the nation stood up against the threat of German invasion. In 1942 Britain at the Brink, Taylor Downing describes in nail-biting detail what was really Britain's darkest hour .