Q&A: Best speed versus maximum speed

What is the difference between ordering maximum speed and best speed?

Maximum speed turns the pursuit into individual races; best speed lets ships form smaller cooperating groups while closing on the enemy.

Maximum speed would make every captain race independently and stretch the fleet into a vulnerable sequence. Best speed instead reflected what nearby ships could sustain while still cooperating. The order accepted several small groups rather than demanding one formal line of battle. Hawke therefore gained urgency without surrendering all tactical cohesion.