More British 13.5-inch battlecruisers would make Germany's existing building program less competitive. The most likely affordable response proposed here is a second Seydlitz, rather than advancing directly to a Derfflinger. Funding is the constraint, even if the design knowledge and shipbuilding infrastructure are available. A larger naval budget would bring the service into competition with the army, a contest the navy is judged unable to win. Paying for another battlecruiser within the existing allocation would squeeze an already small cruiser arm and reduce torpedo-boat investment. The additional capital ship could therefore leave the German fleet still less balanced.
Chapter · 43:08-49:07
Why Germany might answer with a second Seydlitz
A second Seydlitz is the proposed affordable German response, but army competition for funding would force cuts elsewhere in the fleet.