At War in Distant Waters : British Colonial Defense in the Great War
ISBN: 9781612511955
Platform/Publisher: Ebook Central / Naval Institute Press
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Limited; Download: 7 Days at a Time
Subjects: History;

A Great and Urgent Imperial Service investigates the reasons behind Great Britain's combined military and naval offensive expeditions of Europe during the Great War. These campaigns have been branded by various historians as unnecessary sideshows to the conflict waged on the European continent. Pattee argues that the various campaigns were necessary adjuncts to the war in Europe, and fulfilled an important strategic purpose by protecting British trade where it was most vulnerable. Since international trade was essential for maintaining the island nation's way of life, Great Britain required freedom of the seas in order to maintain its global trade. While the German High Seas Fleet constituted a serious threat that placed the British coast at grave risk, forcing the Royal Navy to concentrate in home waters, the importance of the island empire's global trade made it a valuable and vulnerable target to Germany's various commerce raiders--as Admiral Tirpitz's risk theory had anticipated.

Phillip G. Pattee, a retired U.S. Navy submarine officer, is an Associate Professor of strategy and military operations at the U.S. Army Command and Staff College. He previously served as faculty at the U.S. Army War College. His holds a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington and a PhD in military and diplomatic history from Temple University. He lives in Lansing, KS.

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