The episode calls these ships the "real" pre-dreadnoughts and compares France's Charlemagne class with Sweden's Oden class. Charlemagne represents the large ocean-going battleship, while Oden belongs to the smaller coastal-defence tradition. The pairing frames the main problem: a navy defending home waters may need a different ship from one expected to project power at range. Their size, armament, and intended employment provide concrete ways to compare late-19th-century fleet doctrine and the risks each design imposed on an opponent.
Chapter · 0:24-1:02
The 1890s "real" pre-dreadnoughts
The episode sets French Charlemagne-class ships beside Sweden's Oden class to examine two sharply different answers to late-19th-century naval defence.