Alfred Thayer Mahan gave his name to the next destroyer class and provides a brief route into sea-power theory. Treating Mahan and Julian Corbett as simple opposites misses the audiences each addressed. Mahan had to persuade an emerging American power to build and value a navy, which made battle a useful way to communicate sea power. Corbett wrote for a British audience accustomed to a large navy and emphasized how maritime power worked through control, blockade, and wider national strategy. Both discussed battle and blockade, with the difference lying in emphasis rather than mutually exclusive theories.
Notable Point · 39:41-41:31
Mahan and Corbett spoke to different naval audiences
Mahan stressed battle for an emerging American naval power, while Corbett wrote for a British audience already accustomed to a large navy.