- Joined
- Mar 31, 2012
- Location
- Central Ohio
It depends (as I mentioned in another thread) if one is talking about raw numbers and latent power, or power projection capability. China, for instance, has always had an enormous supply of manpower, but the ability to project any of that power much beyond the borders has been (until very recently) almost nil.
Until the advent of effective strategic airpower-- 1940s-- global power projection was all about naval force. And Britannia ruled the waves, because of a number of reasons, including but not limited to:
The most serious challengers to British naval mastery in the post-Napoleonic period came in the early 20th Century, with the rise of the navies of first Germany, and then the United States and Japan. The German navy was taken care of by the Great War, and the Washington Naval Conference and related treaties dealt with (or attempted to deal with) the others.
Until the advent of effective strategic airpower-- 1940s-- global power projection was all about naval force. And Britannia ruled the waves, because of a number of reasons, including but not limited to:
- Effective worldwide logistical network. To some extent, the "empire" existed to serve the military needs, rather than the other way around. A number of far-flung areas were placed under British control not from any real desire for conquest, but from a need to have a coaling station in a strategic spot.
- Capable shipbuilders and powerful ship construction industry.
- A long and continuously-improved tradition of ship and military/naval design.
- Experienced commanders and manpower.
The most serious challengers to British naval mastery in the post-Napoleonic period came in the early 20th Century, with the rise of the navies of first Germany, and then the United States and Japan. The German navy was taken care of by the Great War, and the Washington Naval Conference and related treaties dealt with (or attempted to deal with) the others.