Soviet Naval Theory and Policy: Gorshkov's Inheritance

Abstract

Robert Herrick sparked years of debate with his ground-breaking first book, Naval Strategy, published in 1968 by the Naval Institute Press. Now he applies the widely discussed theories of sea control and sea denial to the period between 1917, when the Russian Revolution ended, and 1956, when Admiral Sergei Gorshkov became commander in chief of the Soviet Navy. Herrrick convincingly presents evidence that during these years a School of naval thought arose, which combined the Old School belief in control of the seas through decisive naval engagements with the Young School belief in denial of the seas to opponents through the use of smaller, more mobile forces. In addition, he reveals that Gorshkov was less an original naval thinker than an adept politician who had been imbued as a young officer with the ideas of the Soviet School. During years of painstaking research Herrick uncovered a vast body of Soviet naval writings, which he quotes copiously throughout the book and lists in the thorough bibliography. A glossary of Soviet naval strategic terms adds to the reader's understanding and serves as a valuable reference in its own right. In his insightful foreword William Manthorpe, an expert on Soviet naval affairs, demonstrates that the book will enrich both the historical record and our understanding of the present. Robert Herrick served as assistant naval attache in Moscow and as an intelligence officer at the Naval War College. A Virginia resident, he is now working on a sequel to this book, which will cover the Gorshkov years.