Regional expertise in Royal Navy command

The Royal Navy expected the Mediterranean and Far East to demand the most difficult responses, while it kept contingencies for several possible opponents. The China Station commander was unusually senior because reinforcements could quickly turn a regional posting into a fleet command. Australian, New Zealand, and East Indies commands might also come under that officer in war. Repeated overseas postings produced officers who knew local ports, governments, and diplomats before a crisis began. Henry Harwood and British officials in South America illustrate how that accumulated knowledge supported the Battle of the River Plate.