New technology mattered to Saint-Bon, but it could not substitute for a balanced, sustainable fleet. His objection to Jeune École-style thinking was operational: a strategy fails if it only works while the opponent accepts its rules and neglects countermeasures. An enemy could adapt defenses or refuse the engagement pattern on which a small-craft concept depended. That skepticism leads directly to the alternative formula of a few high-quality capital ships with exceptional guns and political presence.
Notable Point · 27:56-29:17
Why Saint-Bon rejected a small-ship strategy
Saint-Bon resists building Italy’s fleet around torpedoes and small craft because the concept depends on an enemy who neither adapts nor refuses the desired engagement.