Peace assumptions and French readiness

The naval problem was part of a broader French readiness crisis. Years of planning assumed either peace or a defensive war in which Germany would attack as expected. The shock of the 1940 breakthrough is compared with the Franco-Prussian War, while Verdun and the later strain of the First World War frame the French Army's difficult institutional inheritance. Disarmament politics, fixed fortifications, and radio and communications problems made quick adaptation harder. Capable ships could not compensate for weaknesses in national policy, military doctrine, and command.