Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations

I bought this book to specifically understand better the military situation in the South China Sea where China is fortifying a batch of reefs and shoals to establish their claim on a huge area of what the rest of the world considers international waters.My takeaway from the book is that their fortification program works to keep the American navy and its allies at a good distance from the Chinese coast line. The fortified islands extend the range of Chinese missiles but is otherwise of limited strategic value.It is an old truism that ships don't fight forts. Today, the American warships are limited in number and have only a certain number of missiles on-board. The Chinese can afford to base a vastly larger number of missiles on land. A new truism is that the commander with the last missiles in a battle is the winner. In this case, a close-in battle would go to the Chinese.The American carrier fleet is indeed formidable but it used to have airplanes with a 1000 mile attack range. The new planes are now only good for 500 miles, well within the standoff range of Chinese land-based missiles.But in the strategic sense, it doesn't matter. America doesn't want or need to attack the mainland of Asia. To escalate Trump's trade war with China into a shooting war, a blockade would quickly paralyze the Chinese economy. That America can do outside the range of China's missiles. The trade war is showing China their vulnerabilities in the face of a determined opponent.As to the book, it made a clear case for the other factors in naval tactics besides weapon power becoming even more important than in the past. For example, locating the enemy first, before, he can detect and pinpoint your ships. Breaking the Japanese code really won the Battle of Midway in WWII. Expect more resources to that end in the future, such as space war against satellites,Overall, it contains a great number of historical examples applicable to today's naval officer, some solid operational research, and some nebulous gas about the "principles of war." I had no idea that differential equations would be so important to a deck ape!Overall, it shows that defense (aka area denial) seems on the ascendancy in naval tactics. I'm a bit surprised that thick armor for warships is not making a comeback.Yes, this is a solid textbook for those who want to understand the naval policies of any and every coastal/seagoing country. Written for professional naval officers, it is especially useful for a citizen wanting to become well-informed on naval policy.

Well done

This is the latest version of a book that may become a classic of strategy and tactics of naval warfare - time will tell. This is the latest version. The first looked mostly at the state of affairs just before the end of the Soviet Union, the second at the rise of the concept of littoral warfare, and this latest version focuses more on cybernetic aspects.It is hard to know what the long term impact will be. Ideally we might never know because to know would require a major war. For those interested in history it is interesting to see how a modern strategist interprets the past - especially the brief but busy period of carrier warfare during WW2.

I found it rather light on actual tactics. Details of the thinking behind the Aegean scenario at the end would have been very desirable. Also, it's a bit textbooky: that first chapter left me feeling everything was priority 1. But there is some really good analysis and thinking on the operation of the U.S. Navy in the 21st century. Recommended.

I have read and reread the first edition many times. I missed the second edition, but I found the third edition well worth the wait. The writing style is somewhat different than the first edition, but the fundamental focus on naval tactics through history in order to develop overall themes and a strong analytical framework remains.