ALFRED THAYER MAHAN

Contents Covered

 Introduction…………………………………………… Faryal Mustaqeem

 Historical Background……………………………….. Sania Noor
 Major works…………………………………………….. Mishal Batool
 Impact…………………………………………………… Haleema Naz
 Analysis………………………………………………… Nageen Ashraf
 Critics…………………………………………………. Cynthia Nisar
 Legacy………………………………………………. Karishma Nadir
INTRODUCTON
Alfred Thayer Mahan was a historian, strategist, politician and United
States navy officer of nineteen century
Born September 27, 1840
Place of birth West Point, New York, U.S.
Father Dennis hart Mahan

Education:
Mahan attended an episcopal college preparatory academy in western
maryland he then studied at Columbia for two years. Mahan then entered
the naval academy, where he graduated second in his class in 1859.
Mahan was practically born into the military. His father was a professor at the academy, so it
made a lot of sense for a young Alfred to follow in his footsteps. Mahan graduated from the
naval academy and embarked on a nearly 40-year career in the navy.
CAREER
Commissioned as a lieutenant in 1861, Mahan served the Union in the American Civil War as
an officer on USS Worcester . In 1865, he was promoted to lieutenant commander, and then to
commander (1872), and captain (1885).
TIME PERIOD
TIME PERIOD

• NAVAL struggle between France and Britain during French revolution and Napoleonic wars 1792-1815.
• American civil war 1861 to 1865. The civil war started because of uncompromising differences between
the free and slave states over the power of the national government .
• Age of imperialism (late 19 century).A time when US and other major world powers rapidly expanded
their territorial possession. For example annexation of Hawaii
MAJOR WORKS
MAJOR WORKS

 The Gulf and Inland Waters,1883

 The Influence of Sea Power Upon History,  1890
 The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire,1892
 STRATEGIC VIEWS
.
STRATEGIC VIEWS

 19TH century naval war between France and Great Britain

 Primacy of sea power
 How to work on the strategy of naval supremacy?
IMPACT
Impacts of His Theories

 Impact on Germany:
 by the strategist Ludwig Borckenhagen
 Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered his officers to read Mahan
 Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz used Mahan's reputation to build a powerful surface fleet.
 Impact on France:
 French naval doctrine in 1914
 the Dardanelles expedition of 1915
 not fully understood by French public opinion in 1918
Impact of His Theories

 The First Lord of the British Admiralty read Mahan’s book and gave a copy to the
king of England.
 Contradiction to his theories in Britain.
 Jacky Fisher’s theory.
 Impact in Japan:
 The Influence of Sea power Upon History, 1660–1783 was translated into Japanese
and was used as a textbook in the Imperial Japanese Navy
 Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
 IJN did not adhere strictly to Mahanian doctrine
Impact of His Theories

 Impact in USA:
 United States was born of British maritime colonies
 United States had spent the century previous to Mahan’s book expanding westward and
inwards
 Although not during his lifetime, after his death, during world war two and afterwards
USA maintained one of the strongest Navy in the world.
ANALYSIS
 Naval power of Super power (USA):

• The U.S. Navy emerged from World War II as the most powerful navy in the world.
• It is the largest and most capable navy in the world.
• It has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger
than the next 13 navies combined.
• The world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with 11 in service, and 2 new carriers under
construction.
Naval power and China:

• Beijing has undertaken sweeping efforts to modernize its navy.

• Traditional mentality that land outweighs sea must be abandoned, and great importance
has to be attached to managing the seas and oceans and protecting maritime rights and
interests.
• Over the last few decades, china’s navy has rapidly expanded.
• As of 2018, the Chinese navy consists of over 300 ships, making it larger than the 287
vessels comprising the deployable battle force of us navy.
• Up gradation is to augment its littoral warfare capabilities, especially in the south china
sea and east china sea.
South China Sea

• China is trying to increase it’s influence in the south china sea.

• Strait of Malacca
• This strait controls the transport into and out of the south china sea
• USA’s military bases near the strait of Malacca
• China is dependent on oil for most of it’s goods production
• China is fearful that in case of war, USA might block the strait, resulting in economic
crisis in china.
• China is now building islands in the sea.
CRITICISM
• Focused solely on sea power to the exclusion of all other forms of national power.
• Unable to envision air power, space power and information dominance.
• Some argued that his writing style wasn’t easy.
• Over emphasized the role of sea power for example the role played by naval power in the
making of British empire defeat of Napoleonic France.
• Failed to explain the rise of land base military powers like Germany and Russia in 20th
century.
• Mahan didn’t discuss the role of submarines.
AWARDS AND LEGACY
Awards

 Awards
 Civil War Campaign Medal
 Spanish Campaign Medal
Death and legacy

 Mahan died in Washington, D.C. of heart failure on December 1, 1914, a few months after the
outbreak of World War I.
 The United States Naval Academy's Mahan Hall was named in his honor
 A.T. Mahan Elementary School and A.T. Mahan High School at Keflavik Naval Air Station in
Iceland, were also named in his honor.
 A U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps unit in Albany, New York is honored with his name as the Mahan
Division also named after the USS Mahan.
 A former mission school in Yangzhou, China was named for Mahan