Lt. Col. Eric W. Osborne, Ph.D. - Virginia Military Institute
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Lt. Col. Eric W. Osborne, Ph.D.

Lt. Col. Eric W. Osborne, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Office: 334 Scott Shipp Hall

Phone: 540-464-7477

Email: osborneew@vmi.edu

Fields: Naval History, History of the Indian Sub-Continent, British History, World War I

Honors and Awards

  • VMI Faculty Mentor Award, 2004, 2007, 2008

Associate professor Eric W. Osborne received a B.A. from North Carolina State University, an M.A. from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. from Texas Christian University.

The relationship between diplomacy and naval policy, and the study of naval strategy are key points of emphasis in his research. Osborne has published five books, including Britain’s Economic Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919 and The Battle of Heligoland Bight. The former was reprinted for a second edition. His latest book length work on the 1918 Battle of Megiddo was published through Helion Publishing in 2023. He also recently published a journal article on the impact of international law on Britain’s World War I naval blockade of Germany in the work World War I and the Fragmentation of the Modern World.

At VMI, Osborne directs the World History program. He has conducted twelve independent studies and honors theses and served as a reader on several additional thesis committees

Courses Taught

English/British History: 1688 to the Present
History Capstone
History of the Indian Sub-Continent
Sea Power: 1588-1905
Sea Power: 1905 to the Present
World War I: A Global Perspective
World History I and II

Publications

Books

  • The Battle of Megiddo, Palestine 1918: Combined Arms and the Last Great Cavalry Charge. Helion Publishing, 2023.
  • The Battle of Heligoland Bight. Indiana University Press, 2006.
  • Destroyers. ABC-CLIO, 2005.
  • Britain’s Economic Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919. Frank Cass, 2004, reprinted in 2014.
  • Cruisers and Battle Cruisers. ABC-CLIO, 2004.

Articles and Book Chapters

  • “Great Britain’s World War I Naval Blockade of Germany: International Law Versus the Trident of Neptune.” In New Perspectives on the First World War: Beyond No Man’s Land, edited by Mandy Link and Matthew Stith, 55 – 70. Palgrave, Macmillan, 2024.
  • “The Ulcer of the Mughal Empire: Mughals and Marathas, 1680-1707.”  Small Wars and Insurgencies 31, no. 5 (July 2020): 988-1009.
  • “Clear Victories and Messy Conclusions: Reflections on the British Victory at Megiddo (1918) and It’s Consequences for the Post-War World.” Historian 80, no. 3 (Fall 2018): 497-508.
  • “The Naval War of World War One.” 1914-1918online.com. Published August 2014.
  • Five essays on topics in Indian History for the World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Worldatwar.abc-clio.com
  • “People Come First: Admiral Harry Felt.” In 19 Gun Salute: Case Studies of Operational, Strategic, Diplomatic, and Naval Leadership During the Twentieth and Early Twenty First Centuries, edited by John B. Hattendorf and Bruce A. Elleman, 133-44. Naval War College, 2010.
  • “International Law versus Military Expediency: Great Britain’s World War I Economic Blockade of Germany.” Appeared in Proceedings of the American Historical Association,