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Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies
Warring Partners
RUSI.org brings together leading historians to explore military problems of the present from the perspective of the past.
Spring 2010
Warring Partners
The risks and opportunities of building coalitions
The second RUSI Military History and Policy Series turns to the question of coalition warfare and lessons from its history over the previous two centuries.
It is a pertinent time to consider the historical importance of alliances in the prosecution of war. As this series demonstrates, the success, failure or stalemate of joint ventures has often hinged on the workings of a coalition as much as the efforts of opponents.
The recent MoD Green Paper declared that in order to maintain a global presence Britain must forge closer ties with partners. Press coverage anticipating the Paper's conclusions asserted that cuts would leave Britain reliant on war allies. In this latest Military History and Policy series, RUSI.org highlights the historical continuities of coalition warfare.
Coalitions have proven to be the rule rather than the exception in major conflicts, as well as in peacekeeping and stabilisation operations, over the past two centuries. Moreover, total military capability can rarely be achieved independently, even in the Atomic age. As Andrew Lambert demonstrates, during the Crimean War, it was France that provided the principal land component to fight Russia, while Britain mainly contributed to the maritime element.
Close historical scrutiny of the personalities involved, the mechanisms for unifying policy and military operations, and the shifting balances of power within an alliance, will prove instructive in understanding present and future coalition experiences.
Articles
The Challenges of Coalition-Building: The Vietnam Experience, 1964-1969
By Dr Jonathan Colman
The difficulties of forging a coalition that confronted US policymakers during the 1960s are wholly recognisable today: to encourage political and military support for a conflict that proved deeply divisive.
Anglo-American Co-Belligerency, 1917-1918
By Dr David R Woodward
The relationship between Britain and American during the final years of the First World War demonstrates that a common enemy does not necessarily ensure a seamless alliance.
The Boxer Uprising and the Problems of Expeditionary Warfare
By Dr T G Otte
The military intervention of eight powers in China during the ‘Boxer Uprising’ of 1900-01 proved a major test in coalition warfare. Early political and naval unity when faced with potential disaster proved more difficult to replicate on land due to the absence of inter-Allied control mechanisms.
The Anglo-French Crimean War Coalition, 1854–1856
By Professor Andrew Lambert
The Anglo-French coalition that fought Russia was an unlikely combination. After 1815 relations had often been hostile, and yet they managed to concert policy and strategy to invade and defeat Russia – the continental superpower of the age.
Coalition Diplomacy in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars: A Great Leap Forward?
By Professor Charles J Esdaile
Coalition warfare was an inherent feature of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. While national histories tend to overlook this aspect, coalition diplomacy formed a crucial part of Britain’s war experience and the most important factor in the eventual victory at Waterloo.
The book features new contributions from Sir Jeremy Greenstock, former UK Ambassador to the UN and Special Representative to Iraq and Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge, commander of the 43,000-strong UK Joint Force during deployment, the combat phase and the early weeks of the war's aftermath.
The book also observes that the invasion of Iraq has made clear the gulf between Europe and the US in foreign policy.
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