Napoleon's coastal plans emphasized reaction forces and treated the sea as an extension of land. The analogy was especially weak in the age of sail, when wind and weather controlled whether ships could move or safely remain near a coast. A force on land can shelter while a storm passes, whereas ships caught too close to shore can be wrecked by the same weather. Coastal strategy therefore has to account for the operating medium rather than simply transferring an army's ideas about distance and reinforcement to the sea.
Notable Point · 1:26:29-1:27:21
Napoleon's reaction forces treated the sea too much like land
Wind and weather made maritime movement less predictable than movement ashore, weakening Napoleon's assumption that coastal reaction forces could answer threats as if the sea were another road.