Planning for War at Sea

How have navies contemplated possible enemies? How did they learnor fail to learnonce operations began? How does this analysis inform todays planning for future conflict? These questions guide the noted historians and naval strategists who contributed to Planning for War at Sea. A central theme is the regular failure of navies best-laid plans.Covering four centuries of naval warfare, the early chapters illustrate the challenges all navies faced when considering possible enemies. Even during the Age of Sail, ships were among the most expensive and long-term national endeavors. Navies thus planned well in advance for future wars, usually without knowing their adversaries or how they would fight them at sea. This strategy holds true today. Building a capable navy requires sustained investment in naval infrastructure long before the fighting starts. In the final chapters naval strategists expand on this historical analysis to address how effectively or ineffectively todays three leading naviesRussia, China, and the United Stateshave configured themselves during the postCold War era in preparing for future great power conflict. This collection is an important work for strategists, scholars, and policymakers.