German surface raiders show why the causation test must reject examples that do not fit. A raider such as Admiral Graf Spee could disrupt trade and tie down disproportionate enemy resources when operating freely. The same ship became a fragile concentration of capability once cornered by a larger naval power, echoing the contrast between the German victory at Coronel and defeat at the Falkland Islands. Navies already knew both sides of this strategy, so choosing it again was a calculated option for a smaller fleet rather than a fresh error created by First World War experience.
Notable Point · 13:36-15:38
Surface raiders test the limits of the First World War explanation
The Deutschland-class raiders serve as a counterexample: their risks and uses were already understood before and during 1914-18, so their later employment cannot simply be blamed on a misunderstood First World War lesson.