Interwar German naval thinking remained too attached to Tirpitz's prestige even when the next war forced Germany toward the kind of submarine campaign Holtzendorff had outlined. Holtzendorff's aim was not to crush or occupy Britain but to create conditions in which it could not or would not sustain the fight. Securing such a political result is different from outright battlefield victory, even when both can be called winning. The distinction clarifies the campaign's intended mechanism and the more realistic war aims Holtzendorff believed Germany's resources could support.
Notable Point · 54:52-55:58
Seeking a sustainable settlement, not total victory
The final analysis distinguishes compelling Britain to stop fighting from outright military destruction, a strategic distinction interwar Germany is argued to have missed.