Jeune Ecole torpedo strategy meets the distant blockade

The doctrine imagined massed torpedo boats defeating a blockading battle fleet near shore before cruisers attacked enemy trade. It appeared to offer a dramatic form of defence without the expense of a balanced battle fleet. Basing and concentration were serious weaknesses because torpedo boats gathered at one port might lack the range to answer a blockade somewhere else. An enemy could also remain beyond their endurance and impose a distant blockade instead of entering the preferred engagement zone. Concentrating resources in one apparently decisive weapon therefore left the fleet unable to control the sea or answer an opponent who chose a different operational problem.