Long peace and a missing battle fleet

The Commonwealth spans three galaxies but has experienced roughly twelve centuries of peace before the Magog crisis. That record resembles familiar peacetime cuts in equipment and readiness made on the assumption that warning will arrive before capability is needed. Superior technology and training cannot defeat a more numerous enemy when the fleet lacks formations built for sustained high-intensity battle. Reliance on Glorious Heritage cruisers in place of battleships turns a successful presence force into an inadequate battle fleet.