A fleet's peacetime location did not define where it could operate in war. Cruisers maintained routine British presence because they were cheaper to deploy, while battleships could be concentrated for major operations and still be supported abroad. The First World War examples of Coronel, the Falkland Islands, the Channel, and the Mediterranean show that the Grand Fleet's concentration in home waters did not exhaust Britain's global naval reach. Singapore's interwar facilities likewise mattered because they were intended to support a fleet sent east, and their capture gave Japan the infrastructure Britain had built for that purpose.
Chapter · 55:31-57:44
Cruisers and overseas bases make global battle-fleet deployment possible
The Royal Navy maintained everyday global presence with cruisers while relying on overseas bases and support infrastructure to concentrate its battle fleet wherever a major war required it.