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    Clausewitz And Seapower: Lessons Of The Falkland Islands War
    Clausewitz And Seapower: Lessons Of The Falkland Islands War
    Clausewitz And Seapower: Lessons Of The Falkland Islands War
    Ebook69 pages36 minutes

    Clausewitz And Seapower: Lessons Of The Falkland Islands War

    By LCDR Edward B. Zellem USN

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    This paper explores the hypothesis that although Clausewitz has been criticized for not specifically addressing naval warfare in his seminal work On War, Clausewitzian principles are in fact not only applicable, but highly relevant to the modern conduct of war at sea. The 1982 Falkland Islands conflict between Great Britain and Argentina will be used as the framework to examine this hypothesis. As the largest and most significant series of naval engagements since World War II, the Falklands War provides a rich database of both traditional and non-traditional lessons learned about the conduct of war at sea. This paper begins with a brief discussion of critiques of Clausewitz and his apparent lack of focus on the naval element of warfare. It will be followed by a historical review of significant events leading up to, and during the Falkland Islands War. Key events in the war will then be reviewed and examined within a framework of Clausewitzian principles. The motives, key assumptions, military strategy, and tactics of Great Britain and Argentina will be discussed within the context of the Clausewitzian dictum that war is the continuation of politics by other means. Selected specific events in the campaign will then be addressed in terms of Clausewitzian principles of war to determine their relevance or irrelevance to modern naval strategy and campaigning.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTannenberg Publishing
    Release dateNov 6, 2015
    ISBN9781782899952
    Clausewitz And Seapower: Lessons Of The Falkland Islands War

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      Book preview

      Clausewitz And Seapower - LCDR Edward B. Zellem USN

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 1999 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      CLAUSEWITZ AND SEAPOWER: LESSONS OF THE FALKLAND ISLANDS WAR

      by

      Edward B. Zellem, LCDR, USN

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      Acknowledgments 5

      Abstract 5

      Chapter 1 — Introduction 6

      Criticizing Clausewitz 6

      The Falkland Islands Case Study 8

      Chapter 2 — Historical Background 10

      Territorial Disputes 11

      Other Interests 12

      Argentina in 1981 13

      Chapter 3 — The Conflict Begins 14

      Deception and Surprise at South Georgia 14

      The Main Invasion at Stanley 14

      Argentina’s Force Capabilities 14

      British Force Capabilities 15

      Chapter 4 — British Operational Objectives and the War’s Conduct 17

      Objective 1: Sea Blockade 17

      Objective 2: Recapture of South Georgia 17

      Objective 3: Sea and Air Supremacy 18

      Naval Engagements 18

      Air Engagements 19

      Objective 4: Recapture of the Falkland Islands 20

      Chapter 5 — Clausewitz Applied 21

      War as a Continuation of Politics 21

      Qualities of the Commanders 22

      The Trinity 23

      Surprise and Deception 23

      Correlation of Means and Ends 24

      Offensive and Defensive 25

      Center of Gravity 26

      Numerical Superiority 26

      Friction 27

      Unit Spirit 28

      Chapter 6 — Conclusion 30

      Review of Research Question 30

      Conclusions 30

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 32

      Bibliography 33

      Acknowledgments

      In attempting to make sense of Clausewitz in terms of naval warfighting, research for this paper required frequent immersion into the often musty and arcane literature of war theory. Although reading even good translations of 19th century writing is often laborious at best, the result can be rewarding and fosters new ways of thinking about the profession of arms.

      I would like to thank my ACSC faculty research advisor, Commander Al Spinner St Clair, United States Navy, for his sincere interest in the project and his outstanding advice and guidance during all phases of my research.

      Commander St Clair

      Finally, no acknowledgment would be complete without thanking my wife Cindy and my

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