In Britain, reminiscence of the 1st international struggle is still ruled by way of the ditch conflict of the Western entrance. but, in 1914 whilst the rustic declared warfare, the overpowering expectation used to be that Britain’s efforts will be essentially focussed at the sea. As such, this quantity is a welcome corrective to what's arguably an old overlook of the naval element of the nice battle. in addition to reassessing Britain’s battle at sea among 1914 and 1918, underlining the oft ignored contribution of the blockade of the vital Powers to the finishing of the warfare, the booklet additionally deals a case learn in rules approximately army making plans for ’the subsequent war’. questions about how subsequent wars are thought of, deliberate for and conceptualised, after which how fact truly affects that considering, have lengthy been - and stay - key issues for governments and armed forces strategists. The essays during this quantity exhibit what ’realities’ there are to contemplate and the way major or no longer the swap from pre-war to struggle was once. this is often vital not just for historians attempting to comprehend occasions long ago, but additionally has classes for modern strategic thinkers who're chargeable for making plans and getting ready for attainable destiny clash. Britain’s pre-war naval making plans offers an ideal instance of simply how complicated and unsure that approach is. construction upon and advancing contemporary scholarship in regards to the function of the military within the First international warfare, this assortment brings to complete gentle the dominance of the maritime setting, for Britain, in that battle and the teachings that has for historians and armed forces planners.