The doctrine is first checked against the 1866 Battle of Lissa. Austria and Italy possessed torpedo craft, but neither navy attempted a pure Jeune École campaign. Both relied on mixed forces and a major fleet battle. The episode shows how an attractive theory can struggle to displace balanced force structures when states actually prepare for war.
Notable Point · 29:41-30:27
Lissa fails to validate a pure Jeune École fleet
The 1866 Battle of Lissa disappointed Jeune École expectations because Austria and Italy still fought with mixed battle fleets rather than torpedo forces alone.