BOOK: Richard DUNLEY, Britain and the Mine, 1900-1915 : Culture, Strategy and International Law (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). ISBN 978-3-319-72820-9, $ 109.00

(Source: Palgrave Macmillan)

Palgrave Macmillan has just published a book on mine warfare, international law, and Britain’s relationship with these issues during the early 20th century.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book examines Britain’s complex relationship with the mine in the years 1900-1915. The development of mine warfare represented a unique mix of challenges and opportunities for Britain in the years before the First World War. The mine represented the antithesis of British maritime culture in material form, and attempts were made to limit its use under international law. At the same time, mine warfare offered the Royal Navy a solution to its most difficult strategic problem. Richard Dunley explores the contested position occupied by the mine in the attitudes of British policy makers, and in doing so sheds new light on the overlapping worlds of culture, strategy and international law. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Richard Dunley is Principal Records Specialist at the National Archives, UK. His previous publications examine British defence, strategic and foreign policy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction Pages 1-7

Mining in a Cultural Context Pages 9-21

British Attitudes to Mining Before 1904 Pages 23-44

Mine Warfare in the Russo-Japanese War: The Royal Navy Perspective Pages 45-71

The Russo-Japanese War: Outrage and Reaction Pages 73-95

Mining and International Law: Britain and the Hague Conference Pages 97-130

The Strategic Shift: The Origins of British Mine Warfare Pages 131-163

Development and Institutionalisation: Offensive Mining 1906–1909 Pages 165-192

Strategic Flux and Technical Failure Pages 193-224

The Test of Conflict Pages 225-266

War, Law and Diplomacy Pages 267-295

Conclusion Pages 297-303

More information with the publisher