Operation Royal Marine and the cost of delay

Operation Royal Marine proposed using air-delivered mines against German inland waterways, but French fears of reciprocal attacks helped block it. That hesitation and the slow Anglo-French machinery for running the war also delayed the mining of Norwegian waters before the German invasion. Had the mines been laid during the winter as envisaged, German naval movements toward Norway might have encountered them before British forces were caught reacting late. Mining is a strategic tool whose effect depends on timely political approval, stockpiles, and coordination as well as the weapon itself.