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Origin and Evolution of the British Way in Limited War: On Julian Corbett’s Theory of Limited War

Published:2018-06-14 Published:2018-06-14   Author:Liu Jin   [Small] [Middle] [Big] [More]

The British Way in Limited War originated from Julian Corbett’s development of Clausewitz’s limited war theory, and it later became well- known thanks to Liddell Hart’s idea of British Way in Warfare. For the first time Corbett extended the object of Clausewitz’s limited war theory to a maritime power such as Britain. He stressed that only a global empire could permanently conduct a real and fruitful limited war due to maritime geographical conditions and the separation of powerful navies. What differentiates Corbett from Hart is that the former did not exaggerate the effects of this way of warfare. He emphasized that the British Way in Limited War could not decide the outcome of a continental war because it could not destroy the power foundation of a continental power. The major characteristic of the British Way in Limited War is the combined operations conducted by a small army and a preponderant navy, and it is only part of a maritime strategy that coordinates both land and maritime operations. It shall be adjusted on the practical conditions of war.

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