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Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat
This major revision updates Wayne Hughes's 1986 landmark study that is credited with providing decision makers a sound foundation for battle planning and tactical thinking. The book integrates the historical evolution of tactics, analysis, and fleet operations, and today it can serve as a primer for anyone who wants to learn how navies fight and win. This second edition includes much new material on combat in the missile age and reflects the reconfiguration of many tactics for littoral operations after the fall of the Soviet Union. Hughes recreates famous battles to show how tactics have changed through the ages and the ways in which they have remained unchanged. He covers tactical interaction between land and sea, the sensory revolution of WWII, secret weapons and maritime surprise, the role in battle of leadership and morale, and the importance of surface warships in today's U.S. fleet. He suggests that naval tactics, unlike ground combat, are dominated by the offense and concludes that the great tactical maxim must be attack effectively first.A new chapter traces the evolution of missile tactics at sea and includes details of attacks on ships. Many changes emphasize joint operations and coastal combat. The already extensive appraisal of command and control and information warfare is further expanded to cover modern naval operations and the character of modern salvo warfare. In the tradition of Mahan and Clauswitz, this classic text incorporates literature, politics, and a knowledge of human nature. Indispensable reading for all those interested in naval tactics, it is also a valuable reference for wargamers.
Hardcover
First published November 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 22, 2008
Fleet Tactics and Coastal Combat is wonderfully written book that will provide any reader
with a firm grounding in naval tactics. From the sailing ships of Nelson right up to modern missile warfare and littoral operations this book will help you see what works and why. Not only is this book a treasure trove of information on naval tactics but it is easily accessible to the neophyte and for the most part written in a lively and interesting manner. After reading Mahan this book seems down right exciting. Some might find the sections on the mathematical models of naval combat dry and boring but I think most who are interested in the subject will appreciate their value.
If you are looking at this book and wondering if it is the book your looking for, stop wondering, it is.
with a firm grounding in naval tactics. From the sailing ships of Nelson right up to modern missile warfare and littoral operations this book will help you see what works and why. Not only is this book a treasure trove of information on naval tactics but it is easily accessible to the neophyte and for the most part written in a lively and interesting manner. After reading Mahan this book seems down right exciting. Some might find the sections on the mathematical models of naval combat dry and boring but I think most who are interested in the subject will appreciate their value.
If you are looking at this book and wondering if it is the book your looking for, stop wondering, it is.
May 20, 2017
A triumph. Fleet Tactics represents required literacy for anyone who works in or around naval affairs, or needs to understand naval affairs as a part of foreign policy. For those working on high policy questions regarding China and East Asia, this book will give you a far stronger understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities our Navy represents. Our defense and policy establishment is full of folks reaching conclusions about national naval strategy without a foundation in naval tactics--a dangerous phenomenon. This book is the medicine.
Accessible to someone with no prior naval background, if you want to understand how navies fight, and have historically fought--and thus why fleets are designed (or mis-designed) as such---look no further. You will walk away from this book much smarter about naval affairs, historical and contemporary.
Accessible to someone with no prior naval background, if you want to understand how navies fight, and have historically fought--and thus why fleets are designed (or mis-designed) as such---look no further. You will walk away from this book much smarter about naval affairs, historical and contemporary.
May 10, 2019
Hughes works his way thru the history of naval tactics and then projects his vision of the future of missile based navies.
Why I started this book: I'm working my way thru the Navy's Professional Reading list and this book was on the shelf and honestly looked slimmer than some of the other ones.
Why I finished it: This book is jargon and math heavy, not for the common reader. I also struggled because this book was first published in 1986 and the updated edition was 2000. It didn't feel current, even lots of the insights still apply.
Why I started this book: I'm working my way thru the Navy's Professional Reading list and this book was on the shelf and honestly looked slimmer than some of the other ones.
Why I finished it: This book is jargon and math heavy, not for the common reader. I also struggled because this book was first published in 1986 and the updated edition was 2000. It didn't feel current, even lots of the insights still apply.
October 30, 2017
This book was well written and I enjoyed reading it while I was stuck on a plane. I think the topic may be a bit too arcane though for most people, however given my profession it should come as no surprise I liked this book.
December 12, 2019
This is as clear a look at naval tactics as one can get. Some say teach only procedures — this book provides insights into their application.
October 22, 2021
Hughes writes the first chapter from the perspective of a 18th century French sailor shortly before his convoy gets wiped out by the British commander. The story presents the sailor’s internal monologue, some of it is even in French. This sailor, by the way, is concerned mainly with how not to get food poisoned. Yes, very convincing.
The rest of book uses simple mathematical modeling, parameterized to fit past conflicts, to support various theses on battleships and cruise missiles, what they meant in different contexts, and what they could potentially mean in different contexts.
By the way, the reason old ships-of-the-line had multiple decks stacked atop one another was because if you spread all the cannons out horizontally, they wouldn’t have enough range to all shoot at the same target. This is the limitations of gunpowder, a materials constant.
In the fifth or sixth chapter, we establish a cruise missile as a thing that burns rocket propellant and makes everybody's lives miserable. Now, I wonder if there is any constraint on the size of the cruise missile, for example if we are constrained by a minimum size of guidance module. Or can a graham cracker be construed as a missile bus? No, surely the graham cracker is simply a graham cracker!
I regularly utilize C-squared, C-cubed, and even C-to the fifth power: command, constrain, complain, be conscientious, utilize deductive reasoning, and solve the conflict. Well, I suppose we can all enjoy graham crackers now and again.
The rest of book uses simple mathematical modeling, parameterized to fit past conflicts, to support various theses on battleships and cruise missiles, what they meant in different contexts, and what they could potentially mean in different contexts.
By the way, the reason old ships-of-the-line had multiple decks stacked atop one another was because if you spread all the cannons out horizontally, they wouldn’t have enough range to all shoot at the same target. This is the limitations of gunpowder, a materials constant.
In the fifth or sixth chapter, we establish a cruise missile as a thing that burns rocket propellant and makes everybody's lives miserable. Now, I wonder if there is any constraint on the size of the cruise missile, for example if we are constrained by a minimum size of guidance module. Or can a graham cracker be construed as a missile bus? No, surely the graham cracker is simply a graham cracker!
I regularly utilize C-squared, C-cubed, and even C-to the fifth power: command, constrain, complain, be conscientious, utilize deductive reasoning, and solve the conflict. Well, I suppose we can all enjoy graham crackers now and again.
February 1, 2022
The book has entered into its third edition -this being the second edition in question- signalling that its cogent analyses have stood the test of time and struck a resonant note with discerning members of the public & those in the naval profession. With the final pages turned, two distinct perspectives on modern-day warfare can be gleamed from this book from Hughes.
First, naval warfare in the 21st century will no longer confined to ship-borne aircrafts, surface ships, & submarines but will be increasingly integrated, complemented & supplemented by land-based assets together with space-based sensor arrays. Second, the paradoxical idea that for a long-range weapon to be effective in the vast distances of seas & cluttered littorals, it must be fired at distances at far less than its maximum range to increase the chances of scoring a hit or kill.
First, naval warfare in the 21st century will no longer confined to ship-borne aircrafts, surface ships, & submarines but will be increasingly integrated, complemented & supplemented by land-based assets together with space-based sensor arrays. Second, the paradoxical idea that for a long-range weapon to be effective in the vast distances of seas & cluttered littorals, it must be fired at distances at far less than its maximum range to increase the chances of scoring a hit or kill.
January 17, 2014
Wayne Hughes is a brilliant man. He just needs an editor. There are a great many unique insights in this book but you have to go flipping all over the book to find them.
The chapter on The Great Constants was especially good, as was the Aegean scenario highlighting why Hughes thinks the Navy needs a small, expendable combatant.
If you've got any interest in modern naval warfare, you need to read this book! Just take notes in a more logical order than how the book is laid out.
The chapter on The Great Constants was especially good, as was the Aegean scenario highlighting why Hughes thinks the Navy needs a small, expendable combatant.
If you've got any interest in modern naval warfare, you need to read this book! Just take notes in a more logical order than how the book is laid out.
September 1, 2013
Great book that I will have to go back and read over my notes. New edition has substantial changes. Last chapter--a notional wargame-type readout--is worth the entire price of this thing. Pithy in spots, but he hits on all the key aspects of modern naval warfare.
November 5, 2016
Directed at the professional but accessible to the amateur. An excellent primer for tactics and operations in the missile age, it is also a cogent treatise on command offering unique insights particularly into the leadership styles of Halsey, Spruance, and Burke among others.
February 27, 2013
Excellent from cover to cover! The USN would be wise to read and heed this book, for Lord knows they can (and often) do worse.
April 2, 2015
A good primer on naval tactics through the ages. It gets slow after the beginning of the modern era.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews