The episode reads from Holtzendorff's 22 December 1916 memorandum, which continued an earlier study of merchant tonnage and British supply. Starting from an estimated 20 million gross registered tons, it subtracts shipping requisitioned for military service, coastal trade, repairs, and allied use. The memorandum arrives at roughly eight million British tons serving the home supply trade, while port statistics suggested an even lower figure before enemy and neutral shipping were added. That arithmetic converted the merchant fleet from commercial background into the centre of German strategy. Opening here lets the viewer follow the numerical case before judging the assumptions built on it.
Chapter · 13:49-17:06
Counting the tonnage available to supply Britain
Holtzendorff's December 1916 memorandum allocated Britain's merchant fleet among military, coastal, repair, and allied uses to estimate the tonnage left for British supply.