Sfax versus Leander and the flaw in Jeune École commerce war

The British Leander class was designed for 16.5 knots and reached 17 to 18 knots after funnel changes, while its 11,000-nautical-mile range at 10 knots far exceeded Sfax's 4,200 miles at 10.5 knots. Leander also carried ten six-inch guns, a 1.5-inch armored deck, and 1.5-inch gun shields. Sfax's six 164 mm guns and ten 5.4-inch weapons may have offered greater total firepower and rate of fire, but her 30 mm deck and unshielded guns left her more exposed. She lacked the dependable speed advantage needed to escape British cruisers that were already in service when France launched her. The comparison exposes a central weakness in the Jeune École's two-stage strategy: destroying an enemy battle fleet still left numerous cruisers able to hunt commerce raiders. French colonies offered repair, rearmament, and supplies around the world, but those bases had finite capacity.