The Jeune Ecole treated the torpedo as a weapon capable of changing the balance between small craft and battleships. That confidence helped justify a period in which France did not build battleships. Quick-firing guns then made it much harder for small torpedo boats to approach closely enough to launch their weapons. The criticism extends to procurement continuity: this earlier imbalance is presented as one cause of uneven French naval capability into the 1960s.
Notable Point · 2:11:12-2:12:03
The Jeune Ecole's torpedo strategy meets quick-firing guns
The Jeune Ecole example shows how a strategy built around torpedo boats could lose effectiveness when gunfire prevented them from reaching launch range.