News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author reflects on the eternal question of the NR’s membership demographics, and its future as a platform for cultivating thought and discourse in the Royal Navy. Perhaps ironically, despite the immense technological transformations that have ensued, the fundamentals today seem to reflect the situation at the NR’s foundation, over a century ago. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Nearly a year ago, General Sir Robert Fry recognized the profound geopolitical implications of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In light of the failures of the Global War on Terrorism, serious threats have emerged to the international order. A 10 minute read. Originally published 21 March 2022 in The Article (https://www.thearticle.com/war-no-longer-politics-by-other-means-clausewitz-fukuyama-and-ukraine)

Ed. In the Ukraine conflict both sides have a tendency to favour the optimistic appraisals of their own information echo chambers, a dangerous way to form strategy. The author compares Germany’s 1918 Spring Offensive with expected forthcoming Russian offensive operations and raises questions about Western strategy and goals. Originally published in The Article, 24 February 2023 (https://www.thearticle.com/ukraine-one-year-on-some-random-observations). A 5 minute read.

Ed. The author compares Germany’s self-defeating planning before the First World War, and the subsequent struggle to master attritional warfare, with the failure of deterrence in Ukraine and the battlefield ramifications, and makes an important historical point that bears repeating: As Moltke the Elder knew, no plan survives contact with the enemy. The dangers of attempting to force a political resolution through operational action are clear. Originally published in The Article, 1 June 2022 (https://www.thearticle.com/echoes-of-the-great-war-in-ukraine). A 10 minute read.

Ed. We are delighted to welcome back Sir Rob Fry to the Naval Review. In this article, the former Royal Marines General reflects on Russian military doctrine in the wake of the 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine, and the questionable nature of their doctrinal conclusions. Originally published on 'The Article' website, 13 May 2022. (https://www.thearticle.com/inflection-point-russian-military-doctrine-and-the-war-in-ukraine). A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author surveys the first year of the Russia-Ukraine War, from the grand strategic to the tactical and technical, always keeping the maritime dimension in mind. The lessons of the war thus far are both revealing, in terms of the weakness of unilateral military responses to strategic problems, and disconcertingly familiar from the history of Russia-Ukraine relations. A 40 minute read.