Improved signaling and John Clerk of Eldin's tactical writing gave British admirals more freedom to force close action in this account. Clerk criticized the customary approach in which a British van might run past the enemy line under concentrated fire before the rest of the fleet could engage. His alternative was to break through, divide the enemy formation, and prevent part of it from escaping. Naval officers and later historians disputed how much credit a civilian theorist deserved, but the reading argues that the idea of deliberate tactical fluency was active in Howe's mind before 1794.
Chapter · 2:34:22-2:39:18
John Clerk, line-breaking theory, and tactical controversy
The reading traces how John Clerk of Eldin's line-breaking ideas challenged formal battle-line tactics and provoked a long dispute over who taught the Royal Navy to seek decisive action.