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Phase Line Attila: The Amphibious Campaign For Cyprus, 1974, Chris Deliso, Edward J. Erickson, Mesut Uyar

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

How The Weak Can Beat The Strong In War At Sea, Dustin J. Nicholson Usmc

Naval War College Review

Modern asymmetric naval technologies have not erased the effects of geography. As fortress fleets evolved from dominating harbors to dominating near-sea expanses, weaker naval powers continued to blend the land with the sea to overcome their relative weakness. In response, the stronger naval power must stand ready to win command of the sea through an equally blended strategy.

Mission Command In The Age Of Sail, Josh Weiss U.S. Navy

Naval War College Review

This article develops an analytical framework for mission command; proposes the full age of sail as an area for current military officers to mine for relevant lessons; and examines, through the mission-command lens, a case study from that era, involving a dispute between the British naval and land-force commanders in the Caribbean during the Hundred Days of Napoléon Bonaparte.

Russia’S Twenty-First-Century Naval Strategy—Combining Admiral Gorshkov With The Jeune École, Johannes Riber Royal Danish Navy

Naval War College Review

Both France after the Franco-Prussian War and post-Soviet Russia found themselves squeezed in multipolar worlds, with poor economies and loss of industrial power. Alongside Admiral Gorshkov’s continuing influence, modern Russian naval thinking has evolved toward an emphasis on smaller surface units with advanced capabilities—similar to the Jeune École concept—with implications for Western naval planning.

U.S. Maritime Strategy In The Arctic—Past, Present, And Future, James G. Foggo Iii, Rachael Gosnell

Naval War College Review

Warming waters and melting sea ice will create new challenges off our northern shores, and the Navy and Marine Corps must be prepared to provide a presence in the Arctic that will ensure peace and prosperity in the face of aggressive Russian militarization and expanding Chinese interest. Lessons from America’s Arctic past can illuminate what needs to be done.

Summer 2022 Full Issue, The U.S. Naval War College

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

The Legal Framework Applicable To Intrusive Intelligence, Surveillance, And Reconnaissance Operations In The Air And Maritime Domains, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

The validity of intrusive intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in the maritime and air domains depends on the location from which the operation is conducted. Intrusive ISR conducted beyond the territorial sea and national airspace is considered an internationally lawful use of the sea that is not subject to coastal State jurisdiction or interference. Efforts by a handful of States to regulate ISR operations in and over the exclusive economic zone are clearly inconsistent with a plain reading of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Convention on International Civil Aviation (and their negotiating …

Manual On International Humanitarian Law For The Armed Forces Of The Russian Federation (2002)

International Law Studies

A translation of the Manual on International Humanitarian Law for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, 2002, by Aleksei Romanovski. This translation was originally published as Appendix 1 in Evan J. Wallach, The Law of War in the 21st Century (2017).

China Maritime Report No. 24: Incubators Of Sea Power: Vessel Training Centers And The Modernization Of The Plan Surface Fleet, Ryan D. Martinson

CMSI China Maritime Reports

The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is building modern surface combatants faster than any other navy in the world. Before these new ships can be deployed, however, their crews must learn how to effectively operate them across the range of missions for which they were designed. In the PLAN, this “basic training” largely occurs at specialized organizations called Vessel Training Centers (VTCs). Since their creation in 1980, VTCs have played a key role in generating combat power for the fleet. But as China’s naval ambitions have grown, the VTCs have been forced to adapt. Since the early 2000s, and especially …

Some Reflections On The Threshold For International Armed Conflict And On The Application Of The Law Of Armed Conflict In Any Armed Conflict, T.D. Gill

International Law Studies

This essay discusses the threshold of application of international humanitarian law (IHL) in both international (IAC) and non-international armed conflicts (NIAC). In relation to IAC it questions whether the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) “first shot” approach is the most appropriate, since it opens the way for the intensification of conflicts beyond what is necessary in relation to relatively minor armed incidents and argues that the humanitarian protection clauses of IHL should be separated from the rules governing hostilities and makes a case for the application of ad bellum considerations of necessity and proportionality to act as a …

Proportionality: Reconsidering The Application Of An Established Principle In International Law, Rüdiger Wolfrum

International Law Studies

Traditionally, the principle of proportionality is defined as limiting State action to rational and reasonable means with the view to achieve a goal permissible under international law without unduly encroaching on the protected rights of another State, States, or individuals. The principle applies to the planning, as well as the implementation, of State activities. The application of the principle of proportionality is common in national constitutional and administrative law. A vast national jurisprudence exists in this regard. However, due to the plurality of approaches in the various national legal systems, it is hardly possible to draw any general legal conclusions …

China Maritime Report No. 23: The Type 075 Lhd: Development, Missions, And Capabilities, Conor M. Kennedy, Daniel Caldwell

CMSI China Maritime Reports

When the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) commissioned its first Type 075 class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) in April 2021, it represented an important advance in power projection capability for China’s maritime forces. For the first time, the PLAN had an amphibious warship capable of hosting significant rotary wing forces while acting as the flagship for an amphibious task force. Now with three Type 075 class ships either in or soon to be in service, the PLAN has expanded its amphibious capability even further. The Type 075’s dedicated aviation support capability, ability to conduct wet well operations, and expanded command …

The Legal Requirement For Command And The Future Of Autonomous Military Platforms, Rain Liivoja, Eve Massingham, Simon Mckenzie

International Law Studies

Technologically advanced armed forces extensively use platforms that can be controlled remotely and do not require an on-board crew. Increasingly, these systems have the capacity to function with some degree of autonomy. The use of autonomous functionality is not specifically prohibited or regulated by the law of armed conflict but the use of autonomous functions in military systems remains governed by the general principles and rules of international law.

One existing international law concept may constrain the use of autonomous capabilities in military vessels and aircraft. This is the notion that military units must be “under the command” of an …

Neutral State Access To Ukraine’S Food Exports, James Kraska

International Law Studies

This article originally appeared in Articles of War, the online publication of the Lieber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, May 18, 2022, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/neutral-state-access-ukraines-food-exports/.

Maritime Exclusion Zones In Armed Conflicts, Raul (Pete) Pedrozo

International Law Studies

This article originally appeared in Articles of War, the online publication of the Lieber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, Apr. 12, 2022, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/maritime-exclusion-zones-armed-conflicts/.

The Attack On The Vasily Bekh And Targeting Logistics Ships, James Kraska

International Law Studies

This article originally appeared in Articles of War, the online publication of the Lieber Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, July 11, 2022, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/attack-vasily-bekh-targeting-logistics-ships/.

International Law Considerations For 21st Century Engagements At Sea, Vice Admiral Darse E. “Del” Crandall Jr.

International Law Studies

Keynote address by the Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy at the Alexander C. Cushing International Law Conference at the U.S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, May 16, 2022.

Reflections On Reading, The U.S. Naval War College

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Fighting The Fleet: Operational Art And Modern Fleet Combat, Scott F. Paradis, Jeffrey R. Cares, Anthony Cowden

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Anson’S Navy: Building A Fleet For Empire, 1744 To 1763, Michael Romero, Brian Lavery

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

The Second Anglo-Icelandic Cod War (1972–73)—Analysis Of A Modern Sea Dispute And Implications For The South China Sea, Jeremy Thompson

Naval War College Review

Analysis of the strategies employed by the British navy and Icelandic coast guard during the third Anglo-Icelandic sea dispute, in 1972–73, and the context in which they did so illuminates how modern sea disputes exist in the realm of competition for limited objectives, not warfare, and how the use of force can jeopardize recognition of the claims involved.

What Was Nimitz Thinking?, Jonathan B. Parshall

Naval War College Review

New sources of information reveal that in the run-up to the crucial Pacific War Battle of Midway, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was willing to fight a potential five enemy carriers with two of his own, if Yorktown could not be repaired in time. Why would Nimitz accept those odds, and what likely would have been the outcome had such a battle taken place?

Command Of The Sea Redux, Robert C. Rubel

Naval War College Review

The United States and the West already may have lost command of the sea. To deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or similar aggression, the Navy may need to pursue a very different fleet architecture, further integrate the maintenance and exercise of command, and seek modifications to a Unified Command Plan that ignores the indivisibility of the world ocean.

No Magic Number—Predreadnought Fleet Architecture In The U.S. Navy, 1902–1905, John T. Kuehn

Naval War College Review

What does the nation want the Navy to do? How does one go about ensuring that the fleet has the capabilities and force structure it needs? Examining the challenge Navy leaders faced over a hundred years ago regarding the scale and rate of technological change can help us understand the past better as it relates to the maritime security of the United States today.

War Is The Storm—Clausewitz, Chaos, And Complex War Studies, B. A. Friedman

Naval War College Review

Complexity theories indeed do apply to war, and Clausewitz’s theories were the first to grapple with them. War is nonlinear, but the parallels between war and complexity science, and between complexity science and Clausewitz, do not stop with nonlinearity. Clausewitz’s theory of war does not just allude to complexity; rather, complexity is at its very core.

Countering China’S “Trident” Strategy—Frustrating China’S Aims In The East And South China Seas And The Indian Ocean, Kohji Kuhara

Naval War College Review

China is trying to construct a naval strategy to deny U.S. forces freedom of action in the western Pacific Ocean. Looking back to the U.S. Navy’s last major strategic contest, against the Soviet navy during the Cold War, provides comparisons between Soviet and Chinese strategies that yield insights and analogies that can help develop more effective countermeasures against undesirable Chinese initiatives.

From The Editors, Robert Ayer

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

Spring 2022 Full Issue, The U.S. Naval War College

Naval War College Review

No abstract provided.

China Maritime Report No. 22: Logistics Support For A Cross-Strait Invasion: The View From Beijing, Kevin Mccauley

CMSI China Maritime Reports

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) believes that logistics support is one of the key determinants of a successful large-scale invasion of Taiwan. Logistics support includes transport, materiel and oil supply, medical care, search and rescue, logistics infrastructure protection, and maintenance of war materiel reserves. Despite the recognized importance of logistics support, it is likely the PLA does not currently possess the requisite logistics capabilities to successfully support a large-scale amphibious landing on Taiwan and a possible protracted conflict involving the United States and allies. Key deficits include a lack of amphibious ships (both military and civilian), transport aircraft, and war …

Double Classification Of Non-Consensual State Interventions: Magic Protection Or Pandora’S Box?, Pauline Lesaffre

International Law Studies

The classification under international humanitarian law of certain cross-border armed conflicts against an organized armed group remains controversial. More specifically, cross-border armed conflicts resulting from a non-consensual State intervention, such as the United States’ intervention in Syria (without Syrian consent) against the Islamic State, still divide legal scholarship regarding their appropriate classification. One theory argues for a single classification of non-international armed conflict between the intervening State and the organized armed group; another theory relies on a double classification of non-consensual State interventions, adding to the non-international armed conflict an international armed conflict between the intervening State and the territorial …