The Deutschland class illustrates how strategic circumstances shape acceptable compromises. Germany sought the strongest possible individual units because it lacked the money, industrial base, and infrastructure for numbers. The Royal Navy faced the inverse problem: treaty limits and world-wide commitments made sufficient hull numbers at least as important as the power of any one cruiser. The comparison explains why copying an impressive foreign design can be irrational when the purchasing navy has a different force-availability problem.
Notable Point · 20:38-22:20
Numbers versus individual cruiser power
A navy with global commitments may need enough cruisers for many missions rather than a few exceptionally powerful ships.