PART ONE

Theory of war

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CHAPTER ONE

The theory of war

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The last thing that an explorer arrives at is a complete map that will cover the whole ground he has travelled, but for those who come after him and would profit by and extend his knowledge his map is the first thing with which they will begin.  So it is with strategy.  Before we start upon its study we seek a chart which will show us at a glance what exactly is the ground we have to cover and what are the leading features which determine its form and general characteristics.  Such a chart a “theory of war” alone can provide.  It is for this reason that in the study of war we must get our theory clear before we can venture in search of practical conclusions.  So great is the complexity of war that without such a guide we are sure to go astray amidst the bewildering multiplicity of tracks and obstacles that meet us at every step.  If for continental strategy its value has been proved abundantly, then for maritime strategy, where the conditions are far more complex, the need of it is even greater.

By maritime strategy we mean the principles which govern a war in which the sea is a substantial factor.  Naval strategy is but that part of it which determines the movements of the fleet when maritime strategy has determined what part the fleet must play in relation to the action of the land forces; for it scarcely needs saying that it is almost impossible that a war can be decided by naval action alone.  Unaided, naval pressure can only work by a process of exhaustion.  Its effects must always be slow, and so galling both to our own commercial community and to neutrals, that the tendency is always to accept terms of peace that are far from conclusive.  For a firm decision a quicker and more drastic form of pressure is required.  Since men live upon the land and not upon the sea, great issues between nations at war have always been decided—­except in the rarest cases—­either by what your army can do against your enemy’s territory and national life or else by the fear of what the fleet makes it possible for your army to do.

The paramount concern, then, of maritime strategy is to determine the mutual relations of your army and navy in a plan of war.  When this is done, and not till then, naval strategy can begin to work out the manner in which the fleet can best discharge the function assigned to it.