The Home Fleet theater divided into many commands led by senior admirals. Andrew Cunningham later reduced the structure by asking which headquarters truly needed to join each decision. The wartime network nevertheless coordinated dense flows of merchant ships and convoys around Britain's coast. Those routes came under repeated attack and receive less attention than the Atlantic and Arctic convoys. The concentration of 3,000-ton merchant ships on the command map helps explain why authority was distributed among many smaller coastal areas.
Chapter · 46:12-48:40
Home commands and the overlooked coastal convoy war
Britain's dense command network coordinated coastal traffic that faced repeated attacks despite receiving less attention than Atlantic and Arctic convoys.