HMS Cornwallis, a newly commissioning Duncan-class battleship in February 1904, raises the scenario's British battleship count from 48 to 49. That reinforcement arrives before any wartime acceleration of construction. French intervention is expected to prompt immediate British fleet mobilisation and a rapid restriction of enemy trade by cruisers. Active French support for Russian expansion in Asia would threaten British interests and give Britain an additional reason to act. These are the projected opening moves of the hypothetical war.
Chapter · 53:00-54:36
HMS Cornwallis and an immediate British trade offensive
The counterfactual opens with a new Duncan-class battleship and British cruisers moving against French and Russian maritime trade.