Defence should be judged by the options and risk it imposes, not by whether it offers perfect immunity. A small carrier with fighters might have made the largely unescorted Japanese bombers attacking Prince of Wales and Repulse withdraw or suffer prohibitive losses. The ships' heavy anti-aircraft guns, destroyer screen, and manoeuvring were insufficient against the force committed to the attack. The same threshold logic applies to the Atlantic Wall: Normandy required a multinational concentration of force, and the landings avoided the strongest sector around the Pas-de-Calais.
Notable Point · 11:58-16:40
Force Z and the danger of demanding absolute protection
Force Z illustrates how even limited organic fighter cover could have raised the cost of attack, while Normandy shows how defenders compelled the Allies to assemble overwhelming resources.