The Royal Navy's depleted command bench

The Geddes Axe and two decades of continuing pressure reduced the mass of experienced officers from which wartime flag appointments could be drawn. Fewer officers consequently carried more work, producing exhaustion and further losses from the available command pool. Unlike the later US Pacific Fleet, the Royal Navy could not readily rotate senior commanders out to rest, reflect, and return with renewed judgment. Rapid promotion was no clean solution because every officer moved upward left another billet to fill, while capable captains were still needed to command the ships beneath the admirals.