Goeben's Mediterranean deployment shows Kaiser Wilhelm II's willingness to keep a prominent warship overseas even when recovering it for a European war would be difficult. Stronger Australian and New Zealand battlecruisers could prompt a similar decision in the Far East, involving Moltke or another comparable ship. Such a deployment would strand skilled personnel and a major combat asset away from the decisive theater. Even an extra Seydlitz-type ship might leave Germany's home battlecruiser force no stronger if another capital ship served abroad.
Notable Point · 51:22-54:48
The fleet cost of German prestige deployments
Matching Dominion and Japanese prestige in distant waters could leave Moltke or another German battlecruiser unavailable to the First Scouting Group when war began.