What an expedition would teach its participants

Allies cannot fight together without exchanging at least some operational information, even when they distrust one another. Because the force is expeditionary, it cannot rely on familiar telephone networks or dispatch riders and must solve long-distance coordination problems with radios, shipping, and air support. German and Italian observers would see some of the strongest elements of Allied military practice, while the command failures that later shaped the Battle of France would be less visible. The Spanish Civil War and the Abyssinian campaign had provided combat experience, but neither offered the same multinational test of modern command and combined operations. The Asian expedition would give every participant practical experience beyond the simple deployment of extra troops.