Coronel's causes extended beyond the choices of one admiral. Ministers and senior figures pressed their own instructions on a government and navy still adapting to a major European war. Staff officers had to spend time answering those interventions. This interpretation places Cradock's decisions within that confused command system before considering the relative strength of the ships.
Chapter · 6:25-8:19
Command confusion behind Coronel
Competing ministerial interventions burdened naval staffs and confused wartime direction before the fleets met at Coronel.