Even a British catastrophe would not create parity

An extreme German success provides a stronger test than the historical result. Sinking all nine British battlecruisers and the four 15-inch ships of the Fifth Battle Squadron would destroy thirteen capital ships and cause appalling loss of life. The surviving Royal Navy would nevertheless remain materially and numerically stronger than the High Seas Fleet. A defeat on that scale would probably trigger parliamentary inquiries and a major replacement programme because imperial security depended on restoring naval strength. Germany would also be unlikely to inflict those losses without sacrificing damaged battlecruisers of its own. British replacement capacity therefore made even a spectacular tactical victory insufficient unless Germany achieved it at an implausibly one-sided exchange rate.