Campaign Britain can accept substantial transport losses because it still holds about 168 percent of the shipping capacity it needs. Britain began with more merchant tonnage than France and can absorb a similar raw loss more easily. Judged proportionally, France is losing the shipping war despite British losses. Commerce warfare here turns on exhausting the opponent's ability to sustain and replace shipping.
Notable Point · 1:00:50-1:03:03
Commerce war is measured against replacement capacity
Transport losses are compared with each side's shipping capacity, showing why identical losses can impose very different strategic pressure.