Narvik and the need to learn from early failure

Donald MacIntyre’s Narvik uses the campaign to make a broader point about military learning. Its warning is that planners should study what failed at the start of the previous war instead of assuming the next conflict will begin with capabilities achieved only at the end. The book applies that lesson to Narvik and HMS Glowworm. Its photographs and episodes, including HMS Cossack’s destructive raid into Narvik harbour, keep the argument tied to destroyer operations. Tactical boldness sits alongside the institutional problem of preparing for a war that may not follow peacetime expectations.