Navy and Military Doctrine in France.
Abstract
History of doctrine in the French Navy 1300-1994 and contrast with military doctrine. Navy doctrine was primarily defensive and attrition-oriented. With this doctrine, Royal French Navy achieved high levels of combat success. After the revolution, doctrinal development and combat success were affected negatively, unlike in the French Army, there have not been major debates over doctrine did not routinely occur in the French Navy. One major exception is the period of discussion over the June Ecole (new school). France had a well-developed navy doctrine for multinational operations. They also experimented with new doctrinal concepts at sea. The French Navy did not confuse initiative with only offensive warfare. There is a history of initiative being an integral part of defensive warfare at sea. Doctrine changed most often with changes in government rather than changes in military technology. Many extremely valuable lessons can be learned from a review of doctrinal history in the French Navy and most of these lessons are valid today.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 03, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA288842
Entities
People
- James J. Tritten