France is the first continental navy likely to demand an answer to powerful German long-range cruisers. That pressure could change Dunkerque follow-ons, cruiser tonnage limits, or both, with Italian and British choices following from the French response. Japan might also study German diesel endurance because long range is especially useful in the Pacific, despite the lack of close German-Japanese naval cooperation in the 1920s. A higher treaty allowance for roughly 2,000-ton destroyers such as the Tribal class also becomes plausible. Britain could then build a flotilla of large destroyers each year alongside smaller types rather than treating them as a limited exception.
Chapter · 1:37:35-1:41:24
French, Japanese, and destroyer responses reshape treaty limits
More capable German cruisers could push France toward heavier ships, raise treaty displacement limits, and encourage Japan and Britain to build more large destroyers.