Julian Corbett

Sir Julian Stafford Corbett (1854-1922) was a prominent British naval historian and naval strategist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose works helped shape the Royal Navy's reforms of that era. One of his most famous works was Some Principles of Maritime Strategy, which remains a classic among students of naval warfare. Corbett was a good friend and ally of naval reformer Admiral John "Jackie" Fisher, the First Sea Lord.

Like his American contemporary, Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan of the U.S. Navy, Corbett saw naval warfare as part of a nation's larger policies. In this respect, the Prussian military thinker Carl von Clausewitz was an important influence on his work. Yet Corbett differed from Mahan, in placing relatively less emphasis on fleet battle. This stance angered many officers in the Royal Navy, who believed such a view lacked the heroic aspect of Lord Nelson's strategy in the Napoleonic Wars.

External links

• Murray, Williamson. "Corbett, Julian." Reader's Companion to Military History. Houghton Mifflin. 23 September 2004.
• Corbett Bibliography. "Great Warrior Leaders/Thinkers." August 1999. Air University Library, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. 23 September 2004.
• Text of Some Principles of Maritime Strategy - from Project Gutenberg

References

• Michael I. Handel, "Corbett, Clausewitz, and Sun Tzu." Naval War College Review (Autumn 2000). pp.106–23. Naval War College. 24 September 2004.
• Julian S. Corbett, Some Principles of Maritime Strategy. Classics of Seapower series. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1988.