Sarah Paine

Even for these maritime operations?

Well, A, they're not blockading Britain.

Britain's getting all its stuff out, but then they get sunk somewhere else.

Blockade is when you're actually keeping things in.

So Germany has exactly zero merchant marine going anywhere, right?

The stuff that you're talking about being sunk, they're naval ships, but a lot of it is merchant marine because the British are getting things out.

Tremendous amounts of it are getting out.

So that's just a difference.

And then you're correct about the importance of productive bases.

Britain's problem in World War II that's different from the Napoleonic Wars is when you change to oil as what's powering your ships and things, Britain doesn't have that at home.

Whereas coal, it does.

It has some A-list coal.

And so when you're doing Aegis sailing coal, the British are okay.

But then when you're changing energy sources, they're definitely not okay.

So there are other factors that are going in with them.

But you're right about the productive base.

But then there's another game to play, which I think is worth playing.

It's the game of takeaway.

So you're telling me there's this factor, which is economic size, and it's decisive, that this will determine the outcome of wars.

And you're absolutely right that it's important.