Clausewitz, Corbett, and Mahan wrote within the geography of the states they studied. Prussia or Germany could not easily treat a major border conflict as limited because the homeland was immediately exposed. Britain and the United States could use naval power and oceanic distance to keep combat away from their core territory while sustaining trade. Air power narrowed that protection without entirely erasing it, so the feasibility of limited war still depended on where the enemy and objectives lay.
Notable Point · 3:14:50-3:16:19
Geography determines whether war can stay limited
Sea power and strategic distance let island states limit some wars in ways unavailable to land powers fighting on their borders.