Alsace, Germany, and the case for a larger class

German H-class construction mattered, but France chiefly faced the combined Italian and German challenge. The comparison follows German availability through Bismarck and Tirpitz, Gneisenau's withdrawal for rearmament, and Scharnhorst's loss at the Battle of North Cape: Germany rarely had more than one or two capital ships operational at once. Wartime U-boat expansion contrasts with this small surface battle fleet, and Germany began the war with barely 50 submarines in service. France could often expect three or four available capital ships and therefore concentrate superior numbers against a German sortie. Existing French facilities, followed by planned support investment, make a four-ship Alsace class plausible in this counterfactual. A successful programme could have extended beyond the two ships often imagined.