ABSTRACT
Because it confers the capacity to use the sea while denying that use to the adversary, command of the sea is often important and sometimes crucial at the strategic level of war. Unsurprisingly, the possible ways of achieving or maintaining this advantageous state have dominated the theory and practice of naval warfare. Conversely, ways of limiting or outflanking a stronger adversary’s capacity to command the sea or to exploit that command has been a constant preoccupation of weaker fleets.
