Military Operations and Maritime Preponderance: Their Relations and Interdependence

by Charles Edward Callwell, Colin S. Gray (Editor)

The Classics of Sea Power series makes readily available, in uniform, authoritative editions, the central concepts of the naval profession. These major book-length works, in the words of the masters, have been chosen for their eloquence and timelessness, to express the important themes of strategy, operations, tactics, and theory. This hardcover edition was published in 1996 by the Naval Institute, and includes additional text and editorial changes from previous editions.

525 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Maj Gen Sir Charles Edward Callwell (1859-1928), Anglo-Irish military writer and thinker, intelligence officer and talented linguist, author of Small Wars (1896) and Military Operations and Maritime Preponderance (1905). Interest in Callwell's work revived in the 1990s because of its relevance to peacekeeping and its treatment of asymmetric conflict. He was commissioned into the Royal Field Artillery in 1878 and in 1886, as a captain, was awarded the Royal United Service Institute gold medal for an essay on British army operations since 1865 which became the basis for Small Wars, assuring his career as a military writer. It was republished in 1899 and 1906 and translated into French. In the Second Boer War (1899-1902) Callwell served on the staff of Sir Redvers Buller and then commanded a mobile column. He retired in 1909 to devote himself to writing but was recalled in 1914 to be Director of Military Operations and Intelligence.