Andrew Lambert

In the summer of 1812, Britain stood alone, fighting for her very survival against a vast European Empire. Only the Royal Navy stood between Napoleon's legions and ultimate victory. In that dark hour, America saw its chance to challenge British dominance: her troops invaded Canada, and American frigates attacked British merchant shipping, the lifeblood of British defence. War polarised America....

One of the most eminent historians of our age investigates the extraordinary success of five small maritime states. "A superb survey of the perennial opportunities and risks in what Herman Melville called ‘the watery part of the world.’" —William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal Andrew Lambert, author of The Challenge: Britain Against America in the Naval War of 1812—winner of...

How a strategist's ideas were catastrophically ignored in 1914—but shaped Britain’s success in the Second World War and beyond Leading historian Andrew Lambert shows how, as a lawyer, civilian, and Liberal, Julian Corbett (1854–1922) brought a new level of logic, advocacy, and intellectual precision to the development of strategy. Corbett skillfully integrated classical strategic theory, British history, and emerging trends...

How, for just over a century, Britain ensured it would not face another Napoleon Bonaparte—manipulating European powers while building a global maritime empire At the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, a fragile peace emerged in Europe. The continent's borders were redrawn, and the French Empire, once a significant threat to British security, was for now cut down to size. But...

How, for just over a century, Britain ensured it would not face another Napoleon Bonaparte—manipulating European powers while building a global maritime empire At the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, a fragile peace emerged in Europe. The continent's borders were redrawn, and the French Empire, once a significant threat to British security, was for now cut down to size. But...