Spee's return would require more than simply outrunning British cruisers. A major High Seas Fleet maneuver would have to occupy the Grand Fleet while the East Asia Squadron moved close to the Norwegian coast and slipped toward the Denmark Strait. The later American-funded Northern Barrage did not yet seal the route in this scenario. British leaders could then defend the failure as the cost of containing Germany's main fleet, making immediate political collapse less certain than the counterfactual first suggests.
Notable Point · 4:02:49-4:03:51
How Spee might slip home along Norway
The route follow-up explains how the East Asia Squadron's unlikely return depends on the Grand Fleet watching a larger German movement while Spee hugs Norway.