Interwar theoretical exercises used the United States as the hardest opponent because the treaty system placed its navy on the same scale as the Royal Navy. That choice did not mean a war with America was expected. Practical fleet exercises concentrated on Japan and on sending a fleet to the far side of the world. Preparing the logistics for a Pacific war made operations nearer home in the Mediterranean easier to support. The dangerous assumption was that only one major theatre would demand a war fleet at a time. The Admiralty repeatedly raised the possibility of simultaneous demands in the Far East, Mediterranean and Europe.
Chapter · 15:09-17:09
Why exercises against America differed from preparations to fight Japan
Theoretical exercises used a peer-sized American opponent, while fleet preparations focused on Japan and the logistics of a distant war.