War and Military Atlas

How Battles Were Fought
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Strategy and Doctrine

Sea Power Doctrine (Command of the Sea)

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Sea power doctrine, associated above all with the US naval officer and historian Alfred Thayer Mahan, holds that a nation's greatness rests on command of the sea, won and held by a concentrated battle fleet that denies an enemy the use of the oceans while securing them for the nation's own trade and power projection. Mahan set the doctrine out fully in The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 (1890).

Facts
Core Claim
A nation's greatness rests on command of the sea, won by a concentrated battle fleet that denies the enemy the use of the oceans while securing them for its own trade and power projection. 1
Origin Year
1890 1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Developed By

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Alfred Thayer Mahan
Wikipediadoctrine summary
Quote, doctrine summary
The primary mission of a navy was to secure the command of the sea, which would permit the maintenance of sea communications for one's own ships while denying their use to the enemy.
View the Source
1. Wikipedia: Alfred Thayer Mahan
Wikipedialead paragraph, key work
Quote, lead paragraph, key work
The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783
View the Source
1. Wikipedia: Alfred Thayer Mahan
WikipediaDeveloped By: Alfred Thayer Mahan, lead paragraphView the Source
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