A blockade can damage an opponent's economy and its capacity to wage war only if the enforcing power can sustain it. The Anaconda Plan demonstrates that maritime borders may be closed while a continental target still retains land routes. Naval pressure must therefore be integrated with operations that restrict movement and supply across those borders. That requirement creates difficult allocation and escalation choices for political leaders and commanders. Blockade works when control, endurance, and the geography of the target's whole logistics system make the cordon enforceable.
Chapter · 39:53-40:52
When blockade is worth attempting in modern war
The closing argument asks whether a navy can sustain the cordon and whether operations on land can close the continental routes that maritime power cannot reach.