Q&A ยท 33:30-34:56

French and Russian shipbuilding without the entente agreements

An alternate prewar alignment question runs into the hard limit of French and Russian shipbuilding capacity.

Question

Without the 1904-1907 entente agreements, what naval response could France and Russia build against German and Austro-Hungarian fleets?

Short answer

Very little beyond their historical programs, because French and Russian industrial capacity was already heavily committed.

Notes

France and Russia could build little beyond their historical programs because their shipbuilding industries were already heavily committed. Russia still ordered destroyers and cruisers from Germany despite regarding Germany as a potential opponent. This dependence limits what a different diplomatic alignment could produce without a corresponding increase in industrial capacity. Some unusually large German destroyers also used machinery available because Russian orders could no longer be delivered. Their construction allowed German yards to use equipment already on hand and avoid losing money on it.