Three naval powers, three strategic problems

The United States expected wide-ocean fighting and sought overwhelming force, while Britain had to connect an empire across several theatres. British planning could draw strength, bases, and reinforcement routes from Canada, Australia, India, and the wider empire rather than Britain alone. Imperial reach did not guarantee adequate infrastructure: underinvestment in Indian railways reflected an assumption of secure British control in the Indian Ocean and later caused wartime problems. Japan was overwhelmingly strong against most individual navies but faced two opponents with much greater industrial and infrastructural capacity. It therefore looked for a qualitative edge and a way to avoid a prolonged contest of numbers against either the United States or the British Empire.