Corbett's account, quoted here from Andrew Lambert, explains how British governments directed war through a small circle of ministers while retaining formal cabinet responsibility. Major operations could be agreed before a full cabinet discussion, but ministers kept the right to summon the cabinet and could not later disclaim responsibility. After 1790, the prime minister represented the sovereign in these small councils and decided when wider consultation was necessary. Corbett uses Lord Aberdeen's conduct during the Crimean War to show the practice during a major conflict. British wartime command therefore combined concentrated political direction with collective civilian accountability.
Chapter · 3:23-5:22
Corbett on war councils and cabinet responsibility
Andrew Lambert's reading of Julian Corbett shows British war direction concentrating among a few ministers without dissolving collective cabinet responsibility.