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I bought this book to specifically understand better the military situation in the South China Sea where China is fortifying a batch of reefs and shoals to establish their claim on a huge area of what the rest of the world considers international waters.
My takeaway from the book is that their fortification program works to keep the American navy and its allies at a good distance from the Chinese coast line. The fortified islands extend the range of Chinese missiles but is otherwise of limited strategic value.
It is an old truism that ships don't fight forts. Today, the American warships are limited in number and have only a certain number of missiles on-board. The Chinese can afford to base a vastly larger number of missiles on land. A new truism is that the commander with the last missiles in a battle is the winner. In this case, a close-in battle would go to the Chinese.
The American carrier fleet is indeed formidable but it used to have airplanes with a 1000 mile attack range. The new planes are now only good for 500 miles, well within the standoff range of Chinese land-based missiles.
But in the strategic sense, it doesn't matter. America doesn't want or need to attack the mainland of Asia. To escalate Trump's trade war with China into a shooting war, a blockade would quickly paralyze the Chinese economy. That America can do outside the range of China's missiles. The trade war is showing China their vulnerabilities in the face of a determined opponent.
As to the book, it made a clear case for the other factors in naval tactics besides weapon power becoming even more important than in the past. For example, locating the enemy first, before, he can detect and pinpoint your ships. Breaking the Japanese code really won the Battle of Midway in WWII. Expect more resources to that end in the future, such as space war against satellites,
Overall, it contains a great number of historical examples applicable to today's naval officer, some solid operational research, and some nebulous gas about the "principles of war." I had no idea that differential equations would be so important to a deck ape!
Overall, it shows that defense (aka area denial) seems on the ascendancy in naval tactics. I'm a bit surprised that thick armor for warships is not making a comeback.
Yes, this is a solid textbook for those who want to understand the naval policies of any and every coastal/seagoing country. Written for professional naval officers, it is especially useful for a citizen wanting to become well-informed on naval policy.
- Series: Blue & Gold Professional Series
- Hardcover: 408 pages
- Publisher: Naval Institute Press; 3rd ed. edition (June 15, 2018)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1682473376
- ISBN-13: 978-1682473375
- Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1.2 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Customer Reviews: 9 customer reviews
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#75,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #169 in Naval Military History
- #25 in Military Sciences
- #85 in Military History (Books)
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