This book examines Britain's complex relationship with the mine in the years 1900-1915. The
development of mine warfare represented a unique mix of challenges and opportunities for
Britain in the years before the First World War. The mine represented the antithesis of British
maritime culture in material form and attempts were made to limit its use under international
law. At the same time mine warfare offered the Royal Navy a solution to its most difficult
strategic problem. Richard Dunley explores the contested position occupied by the mine in the
attitudes of British policy makers and in doing so sheds new light on the overlapping worlds
of culture strategy and international law.
