Could Germany spend battleship savings on cruisers and destroyers?

Could money saved from the battleship race expand Germany's cruiser and destroyer forces before the First World War?

Possibly, but the lighter forces would lack the competitive heavy ships around which they were expected to operate.

Leaving the expensive competition in battleship guns raises the possibility of spending more on German cruisers and destroyers before the First World War. That would still leave a fleet without sufficiently competitive heavy ships around which to organise its lighter forces. The counterfactual therefore changes the fleet's balance without necessarily solving its tactical problem. Curtailing the later battleship programme is considered alongside that limitation.