Why counterfactual fleets need shipyards and trained workers

A credible counterfactual requires knowledge of the economic, political, social, technological, and cultural conditions surrounding the proposed change. Student exercises can fail when they invent a different outcome without first examining those constraints. Giving Germany or Italy much larger naval forces creates a specific industrial problem: additional money does not immediately produce additional ships. The facilities must be built and shipyard workers trained before construction can begin. That preparation takes time and limits how quickly a plausible alternative fleet could appear.