Julian Corbett - Work

Work

Like his American contemporary, Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan of the U.S. Navy, Corbett saw naval warfare as part of a nation's larger policies. In this respect, the Prussian military thinker Carl von Clausewitz was an important influence on his work. Another major influence on Corbett was Professor John Knox Laughton, arguably the first naval historian, and of whom Corbett has been described as his 'protégé'. Corbett differed from Mahan, however, in placing less emphasis on fleet battle. This stance angered many officers in the Royal Navy, who believed such a view lacked the heroic aspect of Lord Nelson's strategy in the Napoleonic Wars.

Corbett’s primary objective was to fill the void in British naval doctrine by formalizing the theories and principles of naval warfare. The strategies of naval warfare by Corbett focused on the art of naval warfare and defined the differences between land warfare and naval warfare. He set the initial focus towards the employment of manoeuvre type doctrine. Corbett’s principles of sea control, focus on the enemy, and manoeuvre for tactical advantage form the foundation of today’s naval manoeuvre warfare.

Corbett was working from within the naval community and trying to influence the naval establishment. Corbett believed in studying and developing the theory of war for educational purposes which he felt established a “common vehicle of expression and a common plane of thought . . . for the sake of mental solidarity between a chief and his subordinates”. Through his lectures at the Naval War College, Corbett was trying to convey to the attending flag-officers his ideas of limited war and the strategic defence which were very different from the accepted norms of naval theory and strategy of the time. Through his publication of Some Principles of Maritime Strategy Corbett was trying to expand the audience for his strategies and teachings to include the general public.