A British response to heavier German capital ships would also affect France's programme. French changes could prompt Italy to respond, giving Britain another reason to increase construction. Japan would then reassess the British programme, with consequences for American planning. A counterfactual change can therefore require further reactions rather than leaving every other fleet fixed at its historical strength. The next constraint is what each navy's money and shipbuilding capacity would actually let it do.
Chapter · 1:49:17-1:50:10
A renewed battleship race would expose national bottlenecks
Changing one German or British program would trigger reactions across several navies rather than leaving the rest of the historical fleet balance fixed.