DR. TIM BENBOW The recurrent debate over whether or not the operational level of war exists can sometimes feel like the land component talking to itself. The vast majority of what is written about the operational level, and operational art, focusses predominantly on land operations. It is rare to find an acknowledgement of the significance… Read More The operational level of war and maritime forces
LOUIS HALEWOOD Louis is a current DPhil student at the University of Oxford. He holds an MA in History from the University of Calgary. Louis is co-organiser of the upcoming ‘Economic Warfare and the Sea’ Conference, to be held at All SoulS College in July 2017. A recording of the talk this post is drawn from is… Read More Sea Power, Alliances, and Diplomacy: British Naval Supremacy in the Great War Era
ALEXANDER HOWLETT Throughout its long history, the Royal Navy has been both an innovator of, and adapter to, technological change. By the end of the 19th century, the sailing warship of Nelson’s day had been transformed into the all steel construction, reciprocating engine, electric powered and radio equipped, battleship. As formidable an implement of sea… Read More Keeping the Genie in the Bottle: RNAS Anti-Submarine Warfare, 1912-1916
This short-series of posts coincides with the Command, Leadership and Management phase of the ACSC. In it, members of the Department reflect upon aspects of the leadership, broadly defined. DR DAVID MORGAN-OWEN Rarely has an individual whose most famous achievements came in the realm of military administration captured the historical imagination in the manner of Admiral… Read More Command, Leadership & Management: the Power of Perception
ALEXANDER HOWLETT This was a major international conference, featuring a master-class of subject specialists and naval historians. Since the centenary of the Battle of Jutland was only a few days prior, the great naval battle was certainly the elephant in the room. Jutland was not, however, the only subject of discussion: the strategy and tactics… Read More Conference Report: the First World War at Sea, 1914-1919
DR TIM BENBOW Sometimes academics are confronted by arguments with which we disagree, vehemently. Most have something to be said for them or, at the very least, it is possible to appreciate where those proposing it are coming from and why they might believe it. There are exceptions, which deserve nothing other than a good… Read More The Dunkirk evacuation and the German ‘halt’ order
DR TIM BENBOW It is remarkable how often the role of the capital ship in naval warfare is misunderstood or even ignored. Too often it is dismissed as an expensive and vulnerable luxury, which exists only to flatter the egos of Admirals. Such comments display a striking lack of awareness about naval warfare and how… Read More The role of the capital ship in naval strategy
PROF GREG KENNEDY Prof. Kennedy’s latest publication ‘Britain’s War at Sea, 1914-1918: The War they Thought, the War the Fought’ is now available from Ashgate Publishing. The concept of “lessons-learned” has become a growth industry in the realm of academic, and not so academic, writing on Western strategic and operational processes within defence and security… Read More BRITAIN’S WAR AT SEA, 1914-1918: THE WAR THEY THOUGHT AND THE WAR THEY GOT
by Dr ROBERT T. FOLEY In an earlier post, I examined the official histories of the First World War on the land. Obviously, the war on land was only one aspect of the First World War, combat in the air and on the sea played significant roles in the outcome of the war. Indeed, it… Read More Digital First World War Resources: Online Official Histories — The War at Sea and in the Air
In a recent post, Dr Nick Lloyd described 1915 as the ‘forgotten year‘ of the First World War. To correct this, in occasional posts throughout 2015 members of the First World War Research Group based in the Defence Studies Department will examine unknown or forgotten aspects of the war during 1915. by Dr DAVID MORGAN-OWEN… Read More The Turning Point of the First World War, 1915
Defence-In-Depth 