Neptune and Mars: Napoleonic Maritime Strategy, 1803-1807

This lecture addresses the maritime strategy of both Great Britain and France as war resumed between these two powers, principally at sea, in 1803. The lecture is at the strategic, and sometimes operational, level and traces both empires as they used the sea as a medium to gain advantage over each other. Strategies of blockade, guerre d’ecadre (fleet engagements), and guerre de course (commerce raiding) will be examined and applied to the period. Eventually, the struggle between land power and sea power, especially after the British confirmed their maritime dominance after the Battle of Trafalgar, led to Napoleon’s adoption of the Continental System. This strategy aimed to deny Britain its most lucrative markets as well as its access to raw materials to feed the nascent industrial revolution taking place inside the British Isles. It also led to Napoleon’s most critical strategic errors and contributed to his eventual downfall.

Dr. John T. Kuehn is a Professor of Military History at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He is a Major General William Stofft Professor Emeritus and served as Fleet Admiral Ernest King Visiting Professor of Maritime History at the Naval War College from 2020-2021. He retired from the U.S. Navy in 2004 at the rank of commander after 23 years, serving as a naval flight officer (NFO) flying land and carrier-based aircraft.

The Ft. Leavenworth Series is an annual roster of lectures focusing on significant historical events, usually with an emphasis on military history. Each lecture is presented by faculty from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Established by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1881, the CGSC is the graduate college for U.S. Army and sister service officers. The esteemed faculty and guests of the CGSC provide unique and captivating insights into the history of military conflict from the ancient to the modern ages at the Dole Institute of Politics.