The standard sounds like a simple comparison with two rivals, but it required attention to the next several naval powers and their possible combinations. Germany's later naval laws mattered because a coherent new fleet could change the whole calculation. British planners had to watch the fourth-ranked power as well as the second and third because alliances could reorder the threat. Bismarck avoided provoking this response because he understood that Britain could not accept a threat to the maritime supremacy on which its empire depended.
Notable Point · 24:09-29:16
The two-power standard was more than a two-navy calculation
A two-power standard forced Britain to track the second- and third-ranked fleets together with every navy that could alter a hostile coalition.