ABSTRACT
The unreadiness of French and British forces in the years before and including 1939, and in 1956 before the Egyptian take-over of the Suez Canal, were both arguably critical factors in the decisions of Hitler and Nasser to make the moves they did. Effectiveness is the product of sound planning, material efficiency and adequate training and organisation. As a critical component of naval effectiveness, material efficiency probably reached its zenith in the public mind at the turn of the nineteenth century. However good the material state of a fighting force may be, it will be of little value if those manning it are poorly trained in its use. Really good individuals, working towards a common end, well-trained and with decent materiel, can probably make any organisation work. Intelligence can act in the most direct way possible on deterrence under normal conditions. Surveillance can be viewed as a subset of intelligence gathering.
