Italian unification left the Regia Marina as a collection of predecessor-state navies that had to become a coherent national service. Saint-Bon reasoned from strategic risks - Austria, France, Mediterranean requirements, trade protection, and overseas presence - to the force Italy required. He then worked backward from that force to the training, industrial base, infrastructure, and logistics needed to sustain it. The sequence mattered: establish national support systems before expanding the fleet, because buying ships abroad left readiness dependent on foreign supplies and infrastructure.
Chapter · 25:04-27:56
Building one sustainable Regia Marina
Saint-Bon links threats and maritime commitments to fleet size, then insists that schools, yards, supply, and sustainment must be built before the force.