The carrier question broadens here into a problem of national capacity. French dead, wounded, psychological trauma, and demographic loss after the First World War weakened institutional memory and reduced the pools of experienced public servants, engineers, officers, and political leaders. The argument also links early volunteering with long exposure to the war, suggesting that people most inclined toward public service suffered disproportionately. The connection to carrier weakness is indirect. Postwar France had to make complicated naval aviation decisions with a damaged leadership and technical base.
Chapter · 14:48-21:57
World War I damage and French leadership
The answer roots France's interwar decision-making problems in the human and institutional losses left by the First World War.