The Legacy of American Naval Power: Reinvigorating Maritime Strategic Thought, An Anthology produced by the Marine Corps’ History Division, is a historical primer on the development and fundamentals of maritime strategy, and the role of the Marine Corps in the maritime strategy of the United States. The foreword includes a preface by retired Navy Captain Wayne P. Hughes Jr., where he notes the seven cornerstones for Marines in a new era of naval expeditionary operations; the cornerstones Marines are encouraged to use as lenses to view the articles and essays that follow. The Marine Corps has a long history of thinking, writing, and producing innovative work on maritime strategy, operations, and tactics.
EPIGRAPH v
FOREWORD xi
PREFACE xiii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii
A Brief Introduction to the History of Maritime Strategy 3
CHAPTER ONE 17
The Ascendance of American Maritime Power: A Historical Perspective Culminating at Guadalcanal
Transformation a Century Ago 21
The Color Plans, 1919–1938 34
Evolution of Modern Amphibious Warfare, 1920–1941 44
The Legacy and Lessons of Operation Watchtower 62
Preliminary Report of JANEX-1 74
Biographies Lieutenant General John A. Lejeune 86
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz 89
viii contents
CHAPTER TWO 93
The Expansion of Maritime Power: The Role of Naval Aviation and Submarines The Future of the Submarine 97
Use of Aircraft in Naval Warfare 101
Letter from Geiger to Yarnell on Aviation 113
Major General Roy S. Geiger letter to Admiral H. E. Yarnell How We Bridged a Wartime “Learning Gap” 118
The Future Employment of Naval Forces 131
The Influence of Aviation on the Evolution of American Naval Thought 140
Submarines: Key to the Offset Strategy 165
A New Naval Era 172
Biographies General Roy Stanley Geiger 179
Admiral Hyman G. Rickover 182
CHAPTER THREE 185
Maritime Power in Crisis Response: From the Nuclear Era to Hyperwar
Letter from Geiger to Commandant Vandegrift on Bikini Atoll Atomic Tests 189
21 August 1946 Admiral Gorshkov and the Soviet Navy 192
contents ix
One Telephone Call Gets It All: Maritime Prepositioning 209
for Crisis Response Enhancement Restless Strategy: Alfred Gray’s Philosophy of Warfighting 216
Why Cyberwar Will Not and Should Not Have Its Grand Strategist 256
On Hyperwar 273
Keeping Our Amphibious Edge 283
Between Peace and the Air-Sea Battle: A War at Sea Strategy 291
Biographies General Paul X. Kelley 298
Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt 300
CHAPTER FOUR 303
The Future of Maritime Power
The Marine Corps of Tomorrow 306
Facing Westward to the Future 314
A New Twist to an Age-Old Naval Tradition 323
A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority 344
The Navy and Nation Need a Maritime Strategy 357
x contents
Seapower in Support of National Security 367
Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment 374
Biographies General Peter Pace 397
Admiral James G. Stavridis 399
Chronology:
Selected Significant Moments in the History 401
of Maritime Strategic Thought An Introductory Bibliography of Maritime Strategic Thought 403
About the Editors 409
The Marine Corps and all military personnel engaged in warfare with the Marine Corps, as well as military contractors, civilian Department of Defense personnel and individuals who are familiar with and appreciate the legacy of the Corps.
Product Details
- Westermeyer, Paul D.
- Naval History
- Military History
- Marine Corps
