Command at Sea: Naval Command and Control since the Sixteenth Century

In a grand history of naval warfare, Palmer observes five centuries of dramatic encounters under sail and steam, demonstrating that while abilities to communicate improved, other technologies simultaneously shrank admirals' windows of decision. As a result, naval commanders have never had sufficient means or time to direct subordinates in battle.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Battle Maps Prologue: A Regular Confusion 1. Land Warfare Afloat: Before 1650 2. The Anglo-Dutch Wars 3. At the Dawn of the Enlightenment 4. The Conundrum of the Line Ahead 5. The Advent of Numerary Signaling Systems 6. The Zenith of the Age of Fighting Sail 7. The Age of Steam through the Great War 8. From 1918 through the Second World War 9. The Cold War and Beyond Conclusion: The Crucial Paradox of Knowledge Notes Acknowledgments Index

About the Author :
Michael A. Palmer is Professor of History, East Carolina University.

Review :
A feast for qualified readers. A distinguished historian, Palmer offers a valuable addition to naval history with this study of the problems of how to lead a fleet into battle, revising many previous conclusions and offering superb battle narratives. Publishers Weekly 20050117 Command at Sea is an important book, which fills a gap in the literature of strategy and admiralty...[A] sweeping tour de force. -- Peter Hore Warships 20050601 The treatment of the era of combat under sail at the tactical level is little short of masterly. Palmer's arguments to support his thesis that decentralized command is generally more effective than centralization are well supported by coherent narratives and careful analysis. All this suggests that Professor Palmer has engaged in very much a labour of love. -- James Goldrick Northern Mariner 20050401 A seriously intellectual but nevertheless readable study of naval command and control over the four centuries since the modern concept of naval warfare commenced. World Shipbuilding 20060201 A spellbinding history [told] through the eyes of those who stood on the decks of some of the most famous ships of the past. -- Thomas Vallar Pirates and Privateers Michael Palmer's newest volume takes on what is perhaps the fundamental question in the long history of naval warfare: how can a commander best position his warships to effectively and efficiently engage the enemy? In seeking an answer to the question, Palmer walks the reader briskly through some four centuries of war at sea. Using an entertaining and informative style, he provides multiple examples from key battles to help the reader understand the complexities of command at sea...Palmer provides a first-rate walk through the world of Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson's 19th century navy in particular...This is a volume full of gorgeously told history that does a fine job helping to stir the debates of today--such as jointness and centralization. It also does a marvelous job illuminating the ongoing questions of command at sea, and offers some salient thoughts for command ashore and in the air as well. In the search for the right balance in centralized command, and in determining how far what Palmer terms "the crucial paradox of knowledge" can help pierce the fog of war, the author provides a highly readable and most enjoyable volume. -- Vice Admiral James Stavridis U.S. Navy, Proceedings 20050601 Within these pages, in a masterful control of subject matter, Dr. Michael Palmer analyzes the evolution of naval fleet command and control from the Anglo-Spanish battle in the English Channel in 1588 to the Persian Gulf War...This work is deeply researched, written concisely and with flair, and the author's opinions are not hidden. This is an essential book for the libraries of Navy officers, policy makers, naval scholars, and military history buffs. -- William S. Dudley Sea History