The Royal Navy could not assume that a single North Sea concentration would decide its next war; it had to cover the Mediterranean, Far East, and other theatres. British planning therefore leaned toward mobile task forces that could answer several geographically separate threats. For the United States and Japan, a large fleet battle across the Pacific looked more plausible and Jutland became a more compelling reference point. Japan studied how the weaker German fleet had avoided outright destruction, while the US Navy sought the decisive action its battle line had missed in 1917-18. The comparison shows how the same historical battle could encourage very different force structures and institutional memories.
Notable Point · 54:29-58:06
Jutland's unequal influence on interwar fleet planning
Britain moved toward dispersed task forces for imperial commitments, while the United States and Japan could more readily imagine a decisive Pacific fleet battle.