World War I: Joint Fires in the East African Campaign.(creative use of artillery in war)

Current military thinking increasingly emphasizes "jointness" with leaders required to employ manoeuverist principles and "think outside the box." Some hold the view that these are relatively new developments--or at least have come to prominence only since 1945.

A study of a little known campaign in the First World War, far from the morass of the Western Front, puts this popular myth to rest. The innovative use of naval guns as land-based artillery in the 1914 East African Campaign is an example of joint fires that dispels the myth. One German commander, separated from…