The British Army, the Royal Navy, and the ‘big work’ of Sir George Aston, 1904–1914

Abstract

Abstract This article re-examines the British record of inter-service cooperation in the decade before the outbreak of World War I. A fresh perspective is offered through the ideas, writings and experiences of Sir George Aston, a Royal Marines officer and contemporary analyst of what would today be called joint warfare. The article observes that, despite Aston's best efforts, the Army and Navy did not advance beyond a degree of mutual sympathy for each others operational needs, and did not address the underlying problems of integrated planning and unified command.