Spectacular fleet actions draw more attention than the sustained work of intercepting merchant shipping. Force K's targets were the routine movements that kept armies supplied, making convoy warfare central to naval strategy. The formation could only be in one place at a time, which limited its ability to cover every possible raider route or Axis convoy. Even so, uncertainty about where it might appear constrained German surface raiders and the Axis supply system in the Mediterranean.
Chapter · 45:47-47:34
The economic war behind famous naval battles
Force K's anti-convoy work mattered because it attacked the daily flow of war materials, even though it was less celebrated than warship duels.