The Admiral’s plan was straightforward. The amphibious ship Bulwark would close in on the coastline, protected by a pair of escort ships operating as a team: the state-of-the-art Type 45 anti-aircraft destroyer Dauntless, and the remaining Type 23 anti-submarine frigate, Lancaster. Meanwhile, the carrier would remain out at sea, together with the anti-aircraft destroyer Daring, acting as picket ship, forward defense, and the two Royal Fleet Auxiliary logistic support ships, which provided first line supplies—and the Queen Elizabeth’s greedy gas turbines would need refueling every two days to keep the tanks topped up.

The Task Group commander faced a classic dilemma, similar to that faced by Admiral Sandy Woodward while retaking the Falklands: how to protect his all-important carrier, while at the same time protecting his amphibious force as it closed with the land. The commander had gone for a trade-off, protecting his amphibious ship with the only pair of escorts he could muster, and standing out at sea; thus improving the radar picture, which got ever more cluttered the closer to land a ship got. To reduce the vulnerability of the carrier from a submarine attack, he had the remaining Type 45 destroyer Daring, which was principally a state-of-the-art anti-aircraft platform, but still had a credible anti-submarine capability with its sonar and Merlin helicopter.

Finally, far out in the eastern Baltic, HMS Astute, the hunter-killer sub, was searching for any movement of the Russian Baltic Fleet by conducting a continuous all-sensor underwater search. Occasionally she would stick up her periscope to suck in the electronic picture, all the while being ready to attack any submarine posing a threat to the Task Group. The trouble was, as Bush knew all too well, the Task Group really needed more killer subs, to say nothing of additional escorts. The sea, even at the western, “friendly” edge of the Baltic, was a very big space and a well-operated enemy submarine a very small object.

On top of this, to be conducting a demonstration amphibious landing when the Royal Navy was at war with Russia—because that is what he understood by Britain signing up to Article 5—offended Bush’s common sense. Close with the enemy in the finest Nelsonian traditions by all means, or stay well back and out of trouble until you are ready to take the fight to them. But do not “poise” and present a target for no clear strategic gain.