News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The Royal Navy not only logistically enabled Wellington’s campaigns during the Peninsular War, but also acted as a force-multiplier during the critical operations at Cadiz, Lisbon and elsewhere. Originally published in 2010 [98/4, p. 385]. A 30 minute read.

Ed. The expert author explores the centuries-old history of Trafalgar Night celebrations, and the rather more recent Pickle Night tradition. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author considers the maritime implications for Russia’s naval forces in the Baltic and Black Sea, theatres where geopolitical developments or naval losses have significantly weakened the Russian Navy’s sea control capabilities. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The Battle of Taranto of 11-12 November 1940 was an epoch defining event in the history of naval aviation and a decisive moment for the Fleet Air Arm. With the 83^rd anniversary of the battle in mind, we reproduce here an American perspective on the Royal Navy’s pioneering development of aircraft carriers and the lessons for naval doctrine this history demonstrates. Originally published in July 1994 [82/3, p. 260]. A 30 minute read.

Ed. The author investigates the perhaps surprising legacy of early 20^th century warship provisioning. While the cornucopia of commodities required to provision a Dreadnought-class battleship is to be expected, the long duration and haphazard nature of the victualing system emphasizes historical continuity and institutional ossification in an otherwise transformative era. A 30 minute read.

Ed. For the bicentenary of Trafalgar Day in 2005, distinguished scholars and Naval Review members produced a series of articles on Nelson’s legacy for the 21^st century [93/4, p. 320]. Professor Geoffrey Till provided the following comparison between the then emerging Effects Based Approach (EBA) and the illusive Nelson Touch. Reprinted here for the 218^th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. A 20 minute read.

Ed. The author highlights the need for digital mastery to protect against the ‘black jellyfish’ of postmodern threats. For the Art of Admiralty to succeed in the information age, it must be extended into the digital realm. A 10 minute read.

Ed. As a diversity and inclusion resource for Black History Month, in the second article of a two-part series, the author examines how slavery, the law and conflict pushed black sailors into the Royal Navy before and after Trafalgar, and how those black sailors were treated. A 40 minute read.

Ed. The conclusion to the author’s four-part series on the RN’s Naval Brigades, examining here their conduct in the Second Boer War, 1899-1902. The author continues his comparative analysis with respect to the Army, which by the beginning of the 20^th century had closed the gap with the RN in terms of professionalism and capability. A 20 minute read.