Why Axis naval options had narrowed by 1942

Each successive wartime review offers fewer plausible remedies than the last. By January 1942, combat losses, prewar procurement, and mobilization choices have already closed off many options available in earlier versions of the exercise. The counterfactual permits unlimited money but only knowledge available at that date, so later hindsight cannot rescue the Axis fleets. This framing makes the proposed changes tests of what institutions and industries could still alter during an ongoing war rather than ideal fleets designed from scratch.