Naval War Game Research Articles

‘Sharp like cut iron’: Albrecht von Stosch and the beginning of naval wargaming in the German navy

The Seekriegsspiel, a naval version of the Prussian Kriegsspiel, was officially introduced to the German navy in 1876 by the then chief of the German admiralty, Albrecht von Stosch. Intended as an instrument to professionalize the navy’s officers’ corps, it was used not only as an educational but also an analytical instrument; right up to the outbreak of First World War Kriegsspiele were used to evaluate war plans. The 1876 Seekriegsspiel included both a strategic and a tactical element, with the former being considered at the time to be of more value than the latter. In 1879, Philip Colomb RN published a tactical naval wargame that soon found an interested audience among German officers, and by 1880 a German translation produced by a somewhat colourful Austro-Hungarian officer was in wide circulation. The paper provides a brief overview over the developmental history of the Seekriegsspiel and discusses its differences to the Kriegsspiel used by the army.

Rear Admiral Henry John May and Fred Jane’s 1898 Naval War Game / Rules for the Jane Naval War Game

En 1898, Fred T. Jane a commercialisé un jeu de guerre naval populaire destiné aux officiers de marine professionnels et aux embres du grand public qui s’intéressaient à la marine. Afin de rendre son jeu de table aussi réaliste que possible, Jane a demandé les conseils et l’aide de particuliers œuvrant au sein des établissements de la Marine de plusieurs pays. La présente note de recherche sauve de l’oubli le jeu de guerre naval original de Jane ainsi que le rôle joué par Henry J. May dans la promotion des interactions intellectuelles entre les officiers de marine professionnels et les experts civils bien renseignés, tels que Fred Jane et l’historien Julian Corbett, dans les domaines de la stratégie et des tactiques navales.

The Naval War Game “War.”—VII

The Naval War Game “War.”—VII

The Naval War Game—II

The Naval War Game—II

Tactics in the Jane Naval War Game, as Exhibited in Various Navies

Tactics in the Jane Naval War Game, as Exhibited in Various Navies

The Jane Naval War Game

(1899). The Jane Naval War Game. Royal United Services Institution. Journal: Vol. 43, No. 252, pp. 148-160.

The New Naval War Game

The New Naval War Game

Broadside Fire, and a Naval War Game.

Broadside Fire, and a Naval War Game.