The argument contrasts a Royal Navy sitting in port with one exercising at sea. German observers could interpret active British naval strength as evidence that Britain was preparing to support France, changing the perceived risks around a German commitment to Austria-Hungary. An Anglo-Italian demonstration in the Adriatic is offered as another possible signal that the prewar alignment was weaker than Berlin assumed. This is a counterfactual possibility rather than a claim that naval movements alone would have prevented war.
Chapter · 2:08:54-2:10:58
Naval mobilisation as a political signal in 1914
A historical aside argues that British naval activity at sea could have altered German assumptions about intervention during the July Crisis.