News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author’s investigation into the history of maritime strait multilateralism, a pertinent example of the ad hoc nature of sea control resulting from a rules-based vacuum, and the alternatives available to regional powers. A 25 minute read.

Ed. Two letters reflecting on cultural and doctrinal transformation in the NATO naval realm.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers Professor Andrew Lambert’s masterful study of the development of British strategy from victory at Waterloo to the First World War.

Ed. The authors have just published a new book with Manchester University Press, comparing the history of the RN and Russian Navy. Here they provide an overview of the strategic factors shaping Russian decision-making. There is a very generous discount available for NR members. The best response to this article in the Naval Review Forum will win a prize copy of the book. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in 1949-1950, this three-part series on Admiral Charles Napier and his controversial command in the Baltic in 1854 during the Crimean War is here compiled as a complete text. Reproduced from the NR’s archives [37/4, p. 381; 38/1, p. 65; 38/2, p. 125]. A 60 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in 1958, the author provided an instructive narration of Allied amphibious operations against Finnish and Russian coastal fortifications in the Baltic during the years 1854-5 of the Crimean War. Reproduced from the NR’s archives [46/2, p. 136]. A 30 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers the eagerly awaited and significant concluding volume of Professor N. A. M. Rodger’s trilogy on British naval history: The Price of Victory.

Ed. An important survey of Russian naval history and naval ambitions from the Great Northern War to the Putin era, demonstrating, the author contends, a perpetual inability to intuit technological modernity. A 25 minute read.

Ed. The author examines the importance of cultivating clear strategy and deploying balanced fleets in the Baltic operations of the Crimean War and Russian Civil War. In both cases the Royal Navy was engaged blockading enemy ports and striking at their harbours, frequently without direct orders from London, and with profound consequences for the national consciousness of the region. The parallels for today’s littoral operations in the Baltic and Black Sea are obvious. A 40 minute read.