Something else to remember is that right up until the Germans stepped over the Polish border in late 1996, NOBODY was looking at having to fight a European war, and likely were very keen to stay out of any conflict they absolutely did not need to be in.
Construction and refurbishment of warships could have been seen by potential adversaries as a prelude to attack and may have invited a pre-emptive strike of some kind. Given that, and the immense cost involved, it just doesn't seem probable a large scale buildup would even have been considered, let alone put into practise.
This isn't to say a couple of new ships couldn't have been started - every nation is constantly updating vessels as a matter of course. However, activity outside this normal maintence of the fleet could be seen as very provocative in some circles.
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If it moves, shoot it, if not push it, if it still doesn't move, use explosives.
Nothing happens in isolation - it's called "the butterfly effect"
Mors ante pudorem
Last edited by Legbreaker; 09-07-2011 at 10:31 PM.
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