conduct of naval war, it is necessary to clear the ground of
certain obstacles to right judgment. The gradual elucidation of the theory
of war, it must be remembered, has been almost entirely the work of
soldiers, but so admirable is the work they have done, and so philosophical
the method they have adopted, that a very natural tendency has arisen to
assume that their broad-based conclusions are of universal application.
That the leading lines which they have charted are in a certain sense those
which must govern all strategy no one will deny. They are the real
pioneers, and their methods must be in the main our methods, but what we
have to remember is that the country we have to travel is radically
different from that in which they acquired their skill.

A moment's consideration will reveal how far-reaching the differences are.
Let us ask ourselves what are the main ideas around which all the military
lore turns. It may be taken broadly that the general principles are three
in number. Firstly, there is the idea of concentration of force, that is,
the idea of overthrowing the enemy's main strength by bringing to bear upon
it the utmost accumulation of weight and energy within your means;
secondly, there is the idea that strategy is mainly a question of definite
lines of communication; and thirdly, there is the idea of concentration of
effort, which means keeping a single eye on the force you wish to overthrow
without regard to ulterior objects. Now if we examine the conditions which
give these principles so firm a footing on land, we shall find that in all
three cases they differ at sea, and differ materially.

Take the first, which, in spite of all the deductions we have to make from
it in the case of limited wars, is the dominating one. The pithy maxim
which expresses its essence is that our primary objective is the enemy's
main force. In current naval literature the maxim is applied to the sea in
some such form as this: "The primary object of our battle-fleet is to seek
out and destroy that of the enemy." On the surface nothing could look
sounder, but what are the conditions which underlie the one and the other?

The practical value of the military maxim is based upon the fact that in
land warfare it is always theoretically possible to strike at your enemy's
army, that is, if you have the strength and spirit to overcome the
obstacles and face the risks. But at sea this is not so. In naval warfare
we have a far-reach