Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
THE FINAL signal sent by Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 is etched in the minds of officers in the Royal Navy: “Engage the enemy more closely”. But has the Nelsonian spirit of aggression faded in recent years? A recent paper by Andrew Livsey, who spent 25 years as a naval-warfare officer and now works for the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre, a think-tank, looks at how the culture of the service has changed.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Lacking Nelsonian spirit? ”
Britain January 18th 2025
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