The two ex-German Brandenburg-class ships were not modern dreadnoughts, yet their six 11-inch guns and armor made them credible against Greece. Older armored vessels added numbers but also reflected decades of uneven modernization. Political upheaval and repeated top-down, bottom-up, and sideways reform schemes kept replacing one another before any could take root. In this interpretation, consistent investment in infrastructure, logistics, training, and workable administration mattered more than another abrupt plan. More damaging than any single design weakness was this institutional instability combined with a fleet-in-being policy that demanded survival while also expecting the navy to reverse Greek control of the Aegean.
Chapter · 34:46-41:46
Fleet-in-being orders constrain the Ottoman commander
The Ottoman fleet possesses usable battleships, but orders to preserve it leave Ramiz Bey with little freedom to exploit their combat power.