Cruiser policy as a chain of reactions rather than a strategy

Interwar actors were reacting both to the First World War and to their interpretation of the pre-war naval race. The arms race may also have delayed conflict, illustrating how the same history could support incompatible lessons. German cruiser policy then passed through several purposes: coastal defence, global presence, admission to the treaty system, support for an unaffordable battleship fleet, and qualitative superiority over more numerous foreign cruisers. Each purpose generated a new design response without removing the previous requirements. The resulting ships were asked to embody successive political reactions rather than one stable strategic choice.