The British Way of War: Julian Corbett and the Battle for a National Strategy

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by Andrew Lambert

Yale University Press, 2021

 

Leading historian Andrew Lambert shows how, as a lawyer, civilian, and Liberal, Julian Corbett (1854–1922) brought a new level of logic, advocacy, and intellectual precision to the development of strategy. Explaining why this gifted strategist's ideas were catastrophically ignored in 1914—but later shaped Britain’s success in the Second World War and beyond is the purpose of this work. 

Historian Hew Strachan has written:  "Julian Corbett's Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, published in 1911, is the single most important contribution to strategic thought in the English language. It introduced the idea of grand strategy. . .; it described how sea power could fight a limited war in a continental conflict; in defining command of the sea, it prioritized economic pressure over 'decisive battle'; and it acknowledged that, in ward waged by developed states, their citizens played a vital role — both as political participants and as potential targets of the blockade.  Professor Lambert shares the importance Sir Julian placed on history, as a tool in the intellectual armour of militaries, and his mastery in garnering useful insight from studying Britain’s military past to create a national strategy for Britain.

Although Corbett would eventually fall from recognition, a century on, Lambert argues, Corbett’s importance as a historian and strategist is finally being recognised more and made accessible to the public.  Lambert  shares the importance Sir Julian placed on history, as a tool in the intellectual armour of militaries, and his mastery in garnering useful insight from studying Britain’s military past to create a national strategy for Britain.

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Sir Julian Corbett

Corbett skillfully integrated classical strategic theory, British history, and emerging trends in technology, geopolitics, and conflict to prepare the British state for war. He emphasized that strategy is a unique national construct, rather than a set of universal principles, and recognized the importance of domestic social reform and the evolving British Commonwealth. Corbett's concept of a maritime strategy, dominated by the control of global communications and economic war, survived the debacle of 1914–18, when Britain used the German "way of war" at unprecedented cost in lives and resources. It proved critical in the Second World War, shaping Churchill’s conduct of the conflict from the Fall of France to D-Day. And as The British Way of War shows, Corbett’s ideas continue to influence British thinking.

Sources:  Yale University, King's College Interview with the author; Hew Strachan Review, Sage Journal, Vol. 29, #4