Category Archives: Article

Grace Hopper: Computer Communicator (National History Day)

Tyler Kaus National History Day Tyler Kaus of Chadron Senior History School was honored in the History of Physical Sciences and Technology with his documentary entry titled, Grace Hopper: Computer Communicator. In an interview with local news in Chadron, NE, … Continue reading

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Officers in the ‘Fishpond’ and their Roles in the Royal Navy of the Fisher Era 1904-1919

Henrikki Tikkanen Aalto University School of Business Abstract Admiral Sir John Fisher was the leading figure behind the considerable reforms that took place in the Royal Navy before and during the First World War. Britain was engaged in a costly … Continue reading

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A Question of Faith, A Matter of Tactics: The Royal Navy and the Washington Naval Agreement

Joseph Moretz Independent Historian At the conclusion of the Washington Conference in February 1922, statesmen had good reason to feel satisfied at their handiwork.1 A naval arms race amongst recently cooperative belligerents had seemingly been forestalled with the prospect of … Continue reading

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U.S. Asiatic Fleet Submarines 1941-42: An Evaluation of Senior Leadership

James P. Ransom III Independent Historian There exists a misperception of submarines as self-sufficient hunters, prowling the seas and conducting their operations with little oversight, using only the cunning of their commanding officers and resourcefulness of their crews to perform … Continue reading

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Admiral David Beatty: The Royal Navy Incarnate

Chuck Steele United States Air Force Academy Abstract: This paper addresses the connections between David Beatty and ethos in the Royal Navy during World War I. The issue considered herein is the degree to which Beatty conflated his fortunes with … Continue reading

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The Purchase of the Virgin Islands in 1917: Mahan and the American Strategy in the Caribbean Sea

Hans Christian Bjerg Independent Historian, Author, and Lecturer Readers of American and Danish history have considered the American purchase of the former Danish West Indies, The Virgin Islands, in 1916-17, as an isolated political event with a short previous history. … Continue reading

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The ‘Public Mind’ of British Imperialism: The Seizure of Weihaiwei and the Populist Revolt against Official Far Eastern Policy in 1898

Viktor M. Stoll University of Cambridge “They always want everything for themselves…whenever anyone takes anything, the English want to take much more,” foreshadowed Czar Nicholas II to German Chancellor Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe during their discussion on Russo-German Far Eastern territorial … Continue reading

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Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., and Changing OPNAV

Thomas C. Hone Professor of Operations Planning, Ret., US Naval War College Introduction Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., was Chief of Naval Operations from 1 July 1970 to 1 July 1974. In his 1997 oral history, Admiral Harry D. Train … Continue reading

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Napoleon and New Orleans: the Emperor’s First Surrender and its Impact on Britain in the Last Major Battle of the War of 1812

That the United States understood its relative weakness in military and naval matters was evident in the opportunism with which Madison’s government declared war while Britain was focused on the existential threat posed by the Napoleonic juggernaut. Continue reading

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Researching World War I Virtually

Lynne M. O’Hara National History Day Many researchers and students of history have found themselves researching from home in the past year. The challenges posed to students by the move to online learning and online research is something that the … Continue reading

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The Might That Failed: Jutland and the Wages of Ceremonial Battle

Michael Vlahos The Johns Hopkins University “But there was the glory first.” Rudyard Kipling, The Light That Failed The Battle of Jutland ranks among Britain’s most bitter disappointments. What should have been another Glorious First of June was, in the … Continue reading

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The Wrong Ship at the Right Time: The Technology of USS Monitor and its Impact on Naval Warfare

Larrie D. Ferreiro George Mason University Introduction: “Forty patentable contrivances” Among the many myths that grew up around USS Monitor was that she not only represented a revolutionary concept in naval warfare, marrying steam, armor and a revolving turret, but … Continue reading

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Torpex and the Atlantic Victory

Colin F. Baxter East Tennessee State University Abstract For almost three years, from 1940 until the summer of 1943, German U-boats and Allied forces fought the greatest submarine campaign in history in the Battle of the Atlantic. During those desperate … Continue reading

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Our Insecure Futures: How Can Prepare and Cope?

Richard J. Danzig 2013 Philip A. Crowl Memorial Lecture At the Annual Naval War College Dinner in the Washington Navy Yard on May 9, 2013, Dr. Richard J. Danzig gave a Phillip A. Crowel Lecture, “Our Insecure Futures: How Can … Continue reading

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It’s a navy’s job, only no navy can do it! Understanding and Addressing Western Neglect of Maritime Trade Protection

Lieutenant Comander Matthijs Ooms Royal Netherlands Navy 1 The recent return of geostrategic state competition has brought an end to complacency about interstate war. In the maritime domain, this has increased the prospect of high-intensity maritime warfare. While many Western 2 … Continue reading

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