What would have happened if France was Britain’s enemy rather than ally in World War One?
In this remarkable work of alternative historical fictional, first published in 1891, an imagined naval war between Great Britain and France is documented from its origins through to “contemporary” consequences.
Supposedly written in 1930 and reflecting upon the events of a non-specific range of years in the 1890s, the writer takes us through a historical narrative beginning with the global conditions that necessitate the outbreak of war.
The imagined war is begun by the independent spirit of the Colonies, an affront to French national interests for which the British are reluctant to atone. War is declared by the French Ambassador shortly afterwards.
In the second chapter, the author takes us through the various domestic attitudes of France and Britain, along with the reactions of the Press, which was at the time of writing a comparatively new aspect to the considerations of war. The preparations for war in both countries are also examined, and the inefficiency of peacetime Britain met with some derision by the author.
The next few chapters deal with the detailed imaginings of Britain and France’s fleets, their manoeuvers and deployment, leading up the conclusive battle in the sixth chapter.
This, ‘The Battle of Tenerife’ sees both sides meet in a terrible and decisive battle. The rest of the book deals with the aftermath of the battle, and the conclusion of the war. Most interesting perhaps are the imagined political consequences of the war. The author writes of the ‘National Federation to which we have grown accustomed to’ and of the ‘pax Anglo-Saxonica’ which rules of the globe, but most importantly of the deserved supremacy of Britain’s Naval power.
The Last Great Naval War, is a well told and fascinating insight into a contemporary historical perspective and a curious re-imagining of a possible past.
A. Nelson Seaforth was the pseudonym of UK soldier, colonial administrator and 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe, George Sydenham Clarke (1848-1933). He sat on the War Office reorganization committee in 1901 and was appointed governor of Victoria, Australia by Chamberlain, where critical of the influences of labour and democratic processes during his tenure. He was also appointed governor of Bombay in 1907, but was disturbed by continued unrest and became obsessed with law and order. Clarke never achieved the military or civil posts he coveted. As a professional military officer many of his ideas were ahead of his time, especially those on fortifications, submarines, camouflage and army reform, which proved remarkably prescient.
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