Mahan's Influence on United States Naval Strategy through 1918

Abstract

Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan became an accomplished writer on naval strategy during his period of naval service. In 1890 Mahan received international acclaim for his literary efforts and was acknowledged within his own country as an expert on naval matters. Admiral Mahan was not a creator of naval strategy. Rather he will be remembered for his unique ability to extract from a study of history those recurring factors, which when put in context, form a basis for sound naval strategy. Throughout his writing Mahan stressed the historical lessons of command of the seas, concentration of force, control by blockade, and politics through power. The central theme of the review is America's gradual adoption of the Mahan philosophy of defense through offense from the early struggle for independence in 1775 to her rise to international prominence in 1918.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 15, 1973
Accession Number
AD0760921

Entities

People

  • Dale N. Hagen

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • International Relations
  • Lessons Learned
  • Marine Transportation
  • National Security
  • Naval Operations
  • Naval Vessels
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • Revolutions
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies