How institutions and infrastructure decided the battle

British destroyer commanders could risk their ships to defend the convoy because they knew that achieving the mission mattered to their superiors. German officers faced restrictions on even sustaining damage, while Lützow was also expected to remain fit for a subsequent Atlantic raid. German destroyers therefore failed to push through a British screen of broadly comparable ships despite having heavy-cruiser support. The argument extends to replacement capacity: Britain could build more merchant ships and escorts and send another convoy, while Germany had much less capacity to absorb losses. Britain's infrastructure carried forward from before the First World War supported wartime expansion even though war began before planners expected their preparations to be complete. More German ships could have changed the local balance, but Britain could also have increased its covering force.