ABSTRACT
The end of the Stosch era in the Imperial German Navy coincided with the advent of one of the most persuasive and alluring theories of naval warfare, one which appealed to naval theorists and politicians alike throughout Europe. The Jeune Ecole1 combined coastal defence, anti-blockade and commerce destruction into a package that promised a formidable naval presence at a reasonable cost. The admiralties of Europe were forced to take into account the threat a Jeune Ecole style navy posed to modern ironclads, close blockade, amphibious assaults and maritime commerce.
