Soviet, British Mediterranean, and British Far Eastern submarine campaigns are often overshadowed by better-known narratives. The same caution applies to German cruisers and battleships, whose value cannot be measured only by ships sunk. Repeated German sorties in northern waters made a Tirpitz attack on Arctic convoys a credible possibility. British commanders therefore had to preserve heavy cover and allocate forces against a threat that might not appear. That fleet-in-being effect imposed real demands on enemy decisions and resources.
Notable Point · 1:32:23-1:33:32
Presence effects matter even when ships sink little
A reminder of overlooked submarine campaigns leads into the strategic effect German surface ships exerted simply by remaining a credible threat to convoys.