Why Mediterranean geography limits raiding

An Atlantic raider might break into open water and return, but a French ship operating inside the Mediterranean had much less room. Even an older battleship did not have to sink the raider: damage or delay could leave it exposed to newer battleships, packs of armoured cruisers, or an eventual battlecruiser. A raider trying to reach the Atlantic had to pass Gibraltar, its coastal guns, and an expected British fleet. Moving east presented another barrier because British forces operating from Malta could contest access to the eastern basin. Jellicoe and Henderson are credited with Britain's eventual adoption of convoying, which removed the assumption that merchant traffic would remain unescorted. Convoys, escorts, and Q-ships further weakened the idea that a raider could choose its fights and simply disappear in the western Mediterranean.