Prussia traditionally depended on the Royal Navy to supply maritime strength that its own army-centered state lacked. The Franco-Prussian War did not prove that this dependence had disappeared, because France had already reduced its investment in naval competition. Here, the later Jeune École appears as an effort to make a virtue of accepting inferior battle-fleet strength. A newly unified Germany could dominate continental warfare while beginning its global ambitions from a weak naval position.
Notable Point · 2:28-3:23
Prussian victories still relied on British sea power
The video traces Germany's inherited maritime dependence through Prussia and the Franco-Prussian War, when France had already weakened its naval challenge.