The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread dedicated to the principles of maritime strategy

A good place to start would be with Corbett's book which is free to read on Project Gutenberg.

The Project Gutenberg eBook, Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, by Julian Stafford Corbett

Here is the link:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15076/...

Brief Synopsis:

"Corbett’s Some Principles of Maritime Strategy (Longman, 1911) digested the British experience of war for admirals and statesmen. Corbett argued that Britain’s unique strategic history should be reflected in contemporary strategic decisions. Churchill read these books before 1914, so did Lord Fisher and David Beatty. Corbett’s ideas remain central to the strategic posture of the UK in the 21st century. The men who translated strategy into action are frequently left as little more than footnotes, their professionalism, skill and individuality suppressed by the lack of evidence."

Source of Synopsis: BBC History

by Julian S. Corbett

And the classic:

by Alfred T. Mahan

Thank you Bryan.

Found this interesting book at the bookstore today...

by Michael A. Palmer

From Publishers Weekly
Dense and demanding, this book requires some background in naval history but will be a feast for qualified readers. A distinguished historian, Palmer offers a valuable addition to naval history with this study of the problems of how to lead a fleet into battle, revising many previous conclusions and offering superb battle narratives. From the 16th century on, Palmer shows, the goal was to train the maximum of one's own firepower on the enemy without getting too close. Over the centuries, with improvements in signaling techniques, centralized command took on more and more of the decisions that were once left to subordinates in the thick of things (although Palmer argues persuasively that centralized command never gained the stranglehold on tactics that was once believed). The primary exponent of centralization, he shows, was Nelson, last of the great commanders under sail. By WWI, radio had created whole new possibilities for centralized command and for communicating intelligence—which radio's unreliability kept from being realized. Palmer's coverage of WWII and its aftermath is broader, but his case throughout is that centralized control leads to micromanagement, slow responses and loss of initiative by subordinates, not to mention having one's communications intercepted by the enemy. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Palmer's descriptions of certain key elements of command during sea battles are more welcoming to readers than one may think. Starting in the sixteenth century, improvements in shipbuilding and ordnance made the development of sea-based tactics possible and necessary. Palmer plausibly argues that naval command has since veered between two schools of thought. One favors centralization--micromanagement from the top--the other more independence, establishing a clear objective but allowing subordinates considerable freedom in achieving it. Palmer illustrates his argument with narratives of battles from four centuries and shows how developments in communications tended to favor the centralizers. He unabashedly propounds looser command structure, contending that the "fog of war" on land and, especially, at sea requires initiative of commanders at all levels. Although the book is heavy with detail on tactics and technology, Palmer's style makes it accessible to general as well as academic readers. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
A feast for qualified readers. A distinguished historian, Palmer offers a valuable addition to naval history with this study of the problems of how to lead a fleet into battle, revising many previous conclusions and offering superb battle narratives. (Publishers Weekly )

Command at Sea is an important book, which fills a gap in the literature of strategy and admiralty...[A] sweeping tour de force. (Peter Hore Warships )

The treatment of the era of combat under sail at the tactical level is little short of masterly. Palmer's arguments to support his thesis that decentralized command is generally more effective than centralization are well supported by coherent narratives and careful analysis. All this suggests that Professor Palmer has engaged in very much a labour of love. (James Goldrick Northern Mariner )

A seriously intellectual but nevertheless readable study of naval command and control over the four centuries since the modern concept of naval warfare commenced. (World Shipbuilding )

A spellbinding history [told] through the eyes of those who stood on the decks of some of the most famous ships of the past. (Thomas Vallar Pirates and Privateers )

Hi Tom, that looks like a very interesting book, excellent post!


by Michael A. Palmer

Here is a new book due out soon that may interest readers of naval history; "Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy" by Patrick J. Kelly.

by Patrick J. Kelly
Description:
Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849--1930) was the principal force behind the rise of the German Imperial Navy prior to World War I, challenging Great Britain's command of the seas. As State Secretary of the Imperial Naval Office from 1897 to 1916, Tirpitz wielded great power and influence over the national agenda during that crucial period. By the time he had risen to high office, Tirpitz was well equipped to use his position as a platform from which to dominate German defense policy. Though he was cool to the potential of the U-boat, he enthusiastically supported a torpedo boat branch of the navy and began an ambitious building program for battleships and battle cruisers. Based on exhaustive archival research, including new material from family papers, Tirpitz and the Imperial German Navy is the first extended study in English of this germinal figure in the growth of the modern navy.

Reviews:
"Beyond its great interest for naval and military historians regardless of specialization, this work will be required reading for any... historian of the Second Reich and the interwar period... and for those fascinated by the eternal query, 'Who or what caused the outbreak of the First World War?'" - Eric C. Rust, (author of Naval Officers Under Hitler: The Story of Crew 34)

"Patrick Kelly has written the first major scholarly biography of Tirpitz in English, based on detailed knowledge of vast archival material and an extensive historical literature. With great precision, Kelly's narrative integrates Tirpitz's naval and political careers with broader developments within the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. He also treats in detail the international politics of Wilhelmine arms policy, the naval race with Britain, and the ensuing First World War. This book can be thoroughly recommended to students of both German and naval history." - Rolf Hobson, (author of Imperialism at Sea: Naval Strategic Thought, the Ideology of Sea Power, and the Tirpitz Plan, 1875-1914)

"As both a definitive biography and detailed evaluation of the historiography of this period, Kelly has produced a compelling portrait of Tirpitz that balances the views of those scholars who have overestimated Tirpitz's rationality in political, social and military affairs with those who underestimated his opportunism." - Keith Bird, (author of Erich Raeder: Admiral of the Third Reich)

I think this book should be mentioned here as it tells the story of how Venice gained control of the sea to expand her empire.

by Roger Crowley
Description:
A magisterial work of gripping history, City of Fortune tells the story of the Venetian ascent from lagoon dwellers to the greatest power in the Mediterranean – an epic five hundred year voyage that encompassed crusade and trade, plague, sea battles and colonial adventure. In Venice, the path to empire unfolded in a series of extraordinary contests – the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, the fight to the finish with Genoa and a desperate defence against the Turks. Under the lion banner of St Mark, she created an empire of ports and naval bases which funnelled the goods of the world through its wharfs. In the process the city became the richest place on earth – a brilliant mosaic fashioned from what it bought, traded, borrowed and stole. Based on first hand accounts of trade and warfare, seafaring and piracy and the places where Venetians sailed and died, City of Fortune is narrative history at its finest. Beginning on Ascension Day in the year 1000 and ending with an explosion off the coast of Greece – and the calamitous news that the Portuguese had pioneered a sea route to India – it will fascinate anyone who loves Venice and the Mediterranean world.

Two books that come to mind regarding sea power relate to England and Germany before and during WWI.

Robert K. Massie

Robert K. Massie

Read in order, the first describes the build-up of the large "dreadnoughts", with England and Germany trying to one-up each other in size, speed, and armor. The Kaiser was determined to take over as master of the high seas and humiliate England.

The second book, equally as fascinating,follows the battle plans, victories, defeats, and the lives of the commanders of the dreadnoughts as WWI began. It dispels some of the myths regarding who won what battle, since most were fought to a draw but neither side was willing admit that fact.

Both books are an absolute must for the lover of sea power, WWI, or just a history buff.

Hi Jill, good post and yes, Robert Massie has published two excellent books on WW1 seapower; "Dreadnought" and "Castles of Steel". Thanks for bringing those both to good books to this forum.

& by Robert K. Massie

Received my copy of; "Greek and Roman Naval Warfare" so I now have the set that may interest others who enjoy accounts of early naval warfare in history.

and by William Ledyard Rodgers

Militarism in a Global Age: Naval Ambitions in Germany and the United States before World War I

(no image)Militarism in a Global Age: Naval Ambitions in Germany and the United States Before World War I by Dirk Bonker

Synopsis

At the turn of the twentieth century, the United States and Germany emerged as the two most rapidly developing industrial nation-states of the Atlantic world. The elites and intelligentsias of both countries staked out claims to dominance in the twentieth century. In Militarism in a Global Age, Dirk Bonker explores the far-reaching ambitions of naval officers before World War I as they advanced navalism, a particular brand of modern militarism that stressed the paramount importance of sea power as a historical determinant. Aspiring to make their own countries into self-reliant world powers in an age of global empire and commerce, officers viewed the causes of the industrial nation, global influence, elite rule, and naval power as inseparable. Characterized by both transnational exchanges and national competition, the new maritime militarism was technocratic in its impulses; its makers cast themselves as members of a professional elite that served the nation with its expert knowledge of maritime and global affairs.

American and German navalist projects differed less in their principal features than in their eventual trajectories. Over time, the pursuits of these projects channeled the two naval elites in different directions as they developed contrasting outlooks on their bids for world power and maritime force. Combining comparative history with transnational and global history, Militarism in a Global Age challenges traditional, exceptionalist assumptions about militarism and national identity in Germany and the United States in its exploration of empire and geopolitics, warfare and military-operational imaginations, state formation and national governance, and expertise and professionalism.

The Rise & Fall of British Naval Mastery

by Paul M. Kennedy

Synopsis:

First published in 1976, this book is the first detailed examination of the history of British sea power since A.T. Mahan's classic The Influence of Sea Power on History, published in 1890. In analyzing the reasons for the rise and fall of Great Britain as a predominant maritime nation in the period from the Tudors to the present day, Professor Kennedy sets the Royal Navy within a framework of national, international, economic, political and strategical considerations.

Mentioned:
by Alfred Thayer Mahan

Great Naval Blunders: History's Worst Sea Battle Decisions from Ancient Times to the Present Day

by Geoffrey Regan (no photo)

Synopsis:

From the Admiral Popov, the circular Russian battleship that wouldn't steer straight, to the HMS Trinidad, a British cruiser that managed to torpedo itself, this copiously illustrated collection of incompetence on the high seas takes a serious if often entertaining look at the misjudgments of captains, fleet commanders, and ship designers from Roman times to the present day. Full of jaw-dropping anecdotes, Great Naval Blunders proves the old adage, "Worse things happen at sea."

Some may disagree with the author's stance in this book.

Maritime Strategy and Continental Wars

by Rear Admiral Menon (no photo)

Synopsis:

This volume contends that nations embroiled in Continental wars have historically had poor maritime strategies, developing the argument that navies involved in such wars have made poor contributions to politial objectives.

Red Star Over the Pacific

by Toshi Yoshihara (no photo)

Synopsis:

Combining a close knowledge of Asia and an ability to tap Chinese-language sources with naval combat experience and expertise in sea-power theory, the authors assess how the rise of Chinese sea power will affect U.S. maritime strategy in Asia. They argue that China is laying the groundwork for a sustained challenge to American primacy in maritime Asia, and to defend this hypothesis they look back to Alfred Thayer Mahan's sea-power theories, now popular with the Chinese. The book considers how strategic thought about the sea shapes Beijing's deliberations and compares China's geostrategic predicament to that of the Kaiser's Germany a century ago. It examines the Chinese navy's operational concepts, tactics, and capabilities and appraises China's ballistic-missile submarine fleet. The authors conclude that unless Washington adapts, China will present a challenge to America's strategic position.

Asia Looks Seaward: Power and Maritime Strategy

by Toshi Yoshihara(nophoto )

Synopsis:

Asia is headed toward an uncertain and potentially volatile future in the maritime arena. The two rising Asian powers, China and India, dependent as they are on seaborne commerce for their economic well-being, have clearly set their eyes on the high seas. Yoshihara and Holmes offer a stark warning that many strategists in Beijing and New Delhi appear spellbound by the more militant visions of sea power. Indeed, both powers appear poised to develop the capacity to control the sea lanes through which the bulk of their commerce flows. If they enter the nautical environment with such a martial mindset, Asia could very well fall victim to regional rivalries that give rise to a vicious cycle of competition.

Yoshihara and Holmes provide the first examination of the simultaneous rise of two naval powers and the potential impact that such an oceanic reconfiguration of power in Asia could have on long-term regional stability. Their study analyzes the maritime interests and strategies of the littoral states in Asia as they prepare for the expected reordering of nautical affairs. This long-overdue assessment revisits underlying assumptions that have prevailed among strategy-makers and provides a concrete policy framework for reducing the risk of confrontation in Asian waters.

Chinese Grand Strategy and Maritime Power

by Thomas M. Kane (no photo)

Synopsis:

This challenging new book argues that the People's Republic of China is pursuing a long-term strategy to extend its national power by sea.

The Changing Face of Maritime Power

by Matthew H. R. Uttley (no photo)

Synopsis:

The end of the Cold War has affected debates about maritime strategy, doctrine, operations and technology. This has led to an intellectual reconsideration of the theory and practice of maritime power. This book brings together internationally renowned scholars to address these themes in a systematic and overarching way. It considers the applicability of classical strategic thinking today as well as the evolution of contemporary doctrine. Using the United Kingdom as a case study, the volume evaluates how the changing face of maritime power is influencing western navies.

This would be a good companion book to the one cited in the post immediately above.

Leverage of Sea Power

by Colin S. Gray (no photo)

Synopsis:

The technological advances in the machinery of space, nuclear and air warfare have obscured the importance of naval power. Using examples from Ancient Greece to the Gulf War, Gray argues that control of the sea is vital to strategic planning. The book shows how the various ways in which sea-power can be used to decisively influence the outcome of general conflicts. Sparta required a fleet to bring about the destruction of the Athenian Empire, the lack of access to the sea was a fatal weakness for Germany in both World Wars, whilst in the Gulf War, the ability of the western powers and their allies to bring up vast amounts of armour and supplies unchallenged was a key factor in the outcome of the war

Maritime Strategy or Coalition Defense

(no image)Maritime Strategy or Coalition Defence? by Robert W. Komer (no photo)

Synopsis:

This 1984 Abt Books volume is an assessment of U.S. conventional strategic options in an age of nuclear stalemate. Given thirty-five years of dealing professionally with politico-military and operational issues, mostly as a U.S. official, the author writes not as an academic theorist or armchair strategist but as an active participant in the national security process in Washington and in the field.

World War II at Sea: A Global History

by Craig L. Symonds

Synopsis:

Author of Lincoln and His Admirals (winner of the Lincoln Prize), The Battle of Midway (Best Book of the Year, Military History Quarterly), and Operation Neptune, (winner of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature), Craig L. Symonds has established himself as one of the finest naval historians at work today.

World War II at Sea represents his crowning achievement: a complete narrative of the naval war and all of its belligerents, on all of the world's oceans and seas, between 1939 and 1945.

Opening with the 1930 London Conference, Symonds shows how any limitations on naval warfare would become irrelevant before the decade was up, as Europe erupted into conflict once more and its navies were brought to bear against each other.

World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina at the start of the war the fourth largest navy in the world and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; the struggles of the Russian Navy and the scuttling of the French Fleet in Toulon in 1942; the landings in North Africa and then Normandy.

Here as well are the notable naval leaders FDR and Churchill, both self proclaimed "Navy men," Karl Dönitz, François Darlan, Ernest King, Isoroku Yamamoto, Erich Raeder, Inigo Campioni, Louis Mountbatten, William Halsey, as well as the hundreds of thousands of seamen and officers of all nationalities whose live were imperiled and lost during the greatest naval conflicts in history, from small scale assaults and amphibious operations to the largest armadas ever assembled.

Many have argued that World War II was dominated by naval operations; few have shown and how and why this was the case. Symonds combines precision with story telling verve, expertly illuminating not only the mechanics of large scale warfare on (and below) the sea but offering wisdom into the nature of the war itself.