Viewed across the whole conflict, the First World War was a distributed naval war, even though individual fleet actions can make it look concentrated. The Royal Navy understood that point better than most during the 1920s and 1930s, though its procurement choices still had weaknesses. Japan provides the clearest counterexample through Kantai Kessen, the decisive-battle concept built around one fleet engagement. US Navy plans and exercises also favored concentration before wartime observation and internal advocates shifted preparation between 1939 and 1941. The comparison connects doctrine, exercises, and procurement to the geographic shape of war.
Notable Point · 21:23-23:16
Concentrated fleet doctrine versus distributed war
Royal Navy experience pointed toward distributed war, while Japanese and American doctrine still emphasized decisive fleet concentration before the Second World War.