If Russian armies advance victoriously along the Baltic and co-operate with a combined fleet of our opponents, any continuation of the naval war would be rendered futile by the operations of the enemy on land.
We know also that it is of primary importance to organize our forces on land so thoroughly that they guarantee the possibility, under all circumstances, of our victoriously maintaining our position on the Continent of Europe.

This position must be made absolutely safe before we can successfully carry on a war by sea, and follow an imperial policy based on naval power.

So long as Rome was threatened by Hannibal in Italy there could be no possible idea of empire.

She did not begin her triumphal progress in history until she was thoroughly secure in her own country.
But our discussion shows also that success on land can be influenced by the naval war.

If the enemy succeeds in destroying our fleet and landing with strong detachments on the North Sea coast, large forces of the land army would be required to repel them, a circumstance widely affecting the progress of the war on the land frontiers.