Reassessing Prince Louis of Battenberg

Battenberg's reluctance to criticize colleagues publicly can make agreement look more complete than it was. Written agreement on Churchill's notes need not imply passive acceptance, since a policy could already have been debated in private; there were also occasional public disagreements. Battenberg and Jellicoe preferred fast battleships and opposed further battlecruisers. Battenberg resisted the direction represented by Glorious, Courageous, Furious, Renown, and Repulse, and also objected to the Admiral class's initial battle-cruiser form. This disagreement may help explain the later attacks on his reputation when Fisher returned. His capital-ship policy gives a concrete reason to question the image of an officer who simply accepted Churchill's wishes.