News, Articles and Comment

Ed. Monday 15 Jan 24 – In a media round before a Lancaster House speech on today’s threats and a rose tinted view of the state of our Armed Forces’, https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/defending-britain-from-a-more-dangerous-world the new Secretary of State for Defence managed to get a Nation of Naval Officers shouting at the Radio. If only our own government could address the flashing red lights on the dashboard of their Armed Forces in the same vein as our adversaries are! He rightly suggest the peace dividend no longer exists and that “An age of idealism has been replaced by a period of hard-headed realism.” If that is the case he will also realise that by any indicator he chooses to pick to measure ‘hard-headed realism’ the Defence of the UK is no longer fit for purpose. An illustrious former Editor has also kindly put pen to paper!  For those who missed Mr Shapps’ interview and would like another opportunity to choke on their wheaties it is available on BBC Sounds at 2:15:20 – 2:19:50 (Mon 15 Jan)  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vc9p

BRE. The latest book review is now available. it considers a a recent publication from Osprey looking at the role of shore bombardment in support of the Allied Normandy campaign.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a book exploring and responding to claims that Nelson was linked to the slave trade.

Ed. The author questions how the MoD organises strategic direction and employs the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ): The MoD has an institutional tendency to be overly centralised and does not use its Joint commander effectively. Force structures should flow from defined operational objectives and not the other way around. A 10 minute read.

Ed. ‘NIHL RHYFEL’

In Spring 2023, Lt Col Cripsin Black’s book Too Thin for a Shroud was published. In it he defends robustly 5 Bde’s C2 and the Welsh Guards’ who were still on board the LSLs RFA Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram on 8 June 1982 when they were attacked by the Argentinian Air Force during the Falklands conflict. Over 40 years after the event the opportunity for many, both Green and Navy Blue involved in these events no longer exists, however, the authors of the following  article layout the reasons why they seriously disagree with the book’s suggestions. The Naval Review is an ideal place to hold this rebuttal on record for the benefit of those that wish to study Operation CORPORATE, Amphibious Operations and the fog of war (nihl rhyfel). The following is a review essay dissecting Black’s claims. A 50 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers the latest edition of The Trafalgar Chronicle, the Journal of the 1805 Club.

Ed. In an impressive and no-holds-barred investigation into the command decisions that led to the destruction of Force Z, reflecting on a tragically recurring and lethal combination of command over-confidence and staff obsequiousness, the author catalogues a cascade of failures that at innumerable stages were all too predictable. A 50 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a new addition to the Osprey Campaign series, looking at the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941.

Ed. Persistent personnel and procurement challenges leads the author to question the viability of Continuous At Sea Deterrence and raise concern over the future of the SSN-AUKUS program.