Measuring navies by operations, not only battles

Which persistent naval-history myths would Dr. Clarke most like to dispel?

His headline examples include judging navies only by battles, claims of an American naval victory in the War of 1812, Italian Mare Nostrum narratives, and accounts of Tsushima that neglect the Russian fleet's condition.

For Britain, the discussion challenges the habit of measuring a navy by battles rather than the operations it conducts. For the United States, it disputes broad claims of naval victory in the War of 1812 outside the still-debatable Great Lakes campaign. Italian Mare Nostrum narratives and triumphalist accounts of Tsushima can also understate the condition in which forces operated. These examples are starting points that require fuller treatment rather than complete arguments in themselves.