Julian Corbett and the Current British Maritime Doctrine

Abstract

It is widely claimed that the current British Maritime Doctrine is highly influenced by the ideas of British strategist and naval historian Sir Julian S. Corbett. These conclusions, however, rarely originate from systematic empirical investigations of the doctrine itself. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to investigate the intellectual bonds between Corbett and this particular doctrine. In order to bring structure and coherence to the investigation, distinctions are made between four different kinds of influence—formal and informal influence, as well as direct and indirect influence. Although Corbett's influence can certainly be established, it needs to be qualified in at least two respects: his ideas are much more influential in maritime/naval matters on the military-strategic level of war than on operational aspects, and his thinking often seems to be used to “intellectually” legitimize a proposition or a conclusion reached for other reasons. While focusing on certain aspects of Corbettian thinking and disregarding others, the authors of British Maritime Doctrine in fact often tend to quote not Corbett or his thinking, but rather his legend.