The Wargaming Department provided specialists to support The First World War at Sea at the National Maritime Museum with the Battle of Jutland wargame November 8, 2018. Professor Richard LaBranche led a team of Wargaming Department specialists, including Pete Pellegrino, Mark Stanovich, Jon Scott Logel and Don Thieme to Greenwich, England.
This wargame presented the stress and friction of communication and direction in a complex naval battle, and afforded British participants an inside look at the historical development of wargame design, execution, and education at the U.S. Naval War College in the interwar period.
During this period, British and German veterans of Jutland frequently visited the college to lecture about their experiences. These lectures and wargames informed the thinking of Naval War College graduates including retired Adm. Ernest J King, retired Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, retired Adm. Raymond A. Spruance and retired Adm. William F Halsey, Jr.
This opportunity also afforded the Wargaming Department team a chance to focus on complex decision-making at the operational and strategic levels of war by the British during World War I and World War II, from the complexities of ship design to information management and effective orders communication.
Explore the Battle of Jutland story.