Beyond the distant blockade, British naval leaders discussed raids and landings without acquiring a force specifically prepared to execute them. Fisher favored forcing the Danish straits, entering the Baltic, and perhaps helping Russian troops land on Germany's coast. Other possibilities included Napoleonic-style raids or putting the British Army ashore behind German lines in Schleswig-Holstein or the Netherlands. The Army instead planned to fight beside France, while the Navy began requisitioning monitors and inshore fire-support vessels only after war began. The passage illustrates the difference between possessing strategic possibilities and converting them into joint doctrine, assets, and a politically understood plan.
Notable Point · 44:22-46:29
British amphibious options lacked prewar preparation
Possible Baltic and North Sea landings remained ideas rather than a jointly prepared way to use British sea power and the army.