Editing Imperial German Navy (section)

==1888 to 1897, under Kaiser Wilhelm II==
[[File:Kaiser Wilhelm-10959b (Adolph Behrens).jpg|thumb|upright|Wilhelm II in German Admiral's uniform in 1913]]
In June 1888 [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] became Emperor after the death of his father [[Frederick III, German Emperor|Frederick III]], who ruled for only 99 days. He started his reign with the intention of doing for the navy what his grandfather Wilhelm I had done for the army. The creation of a maritime empire to rival the [[British Empire|British]] and [[French colonial empire|French]] empires became an ambition to mark Germany as a truly global [[great power]]. Wilhelm became Grand Admiral of the German Navy, but also was awarded honorific titles from all over Europe, becoming admiral in the British, Russian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Austro-Hungarian and Greek navies. On one occasion he wore the uniform of a British admiral to receive the visiting British ambassador.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=17–19}} At this time the Imperial Navy had 534 officers and 15,480 men.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|p=15}}

The concept of expanding naval power, inevitably at the cost of not expanding other forces, was opposed by the three successive heads of the German armed forces, [[Alfred von Waldersee|Waldersee]], [[Alfred von Schlieffen|Schlieffen]] and [[Helmuth von Moltke the Younger|Moltke]] between 1888 and 1914. It would also have been more widely opposed, had the Kaiser's intentions been widely known. Instead, he proceeded with a plan to expand the navy slowly, justifying enlargement step by step.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|p=20}}

In July 1888 Wilhelm II appointed Vice-Admiral [[Alexander von Monts]] as head of the admiralty. Monts oversaw the design of the {{sclass|Brandenburg|battleship|2}}, four of which were constructed by 1894 at a cost of 16&nbsp;million marks each and displacement of 10,000 tons.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=24–26}}

In 1889 Wilhelm II reorganised top level control of the navy by creating a [[German Imperial Naval Cabinet|Navy Cabinet (''Marine-Kabinett'')]] equivalent to the [[German Imperial Military Cabinet]] which had previously functioned in the same capacity for both the army and navy. The Head of the navy cabinet was responsible for promotions, appointments, administration and issuing orders to naval forces. Captain [[Gustav von Senden-Bibran]] was appointed as its first head and remained so until 1906, when he was replaced by the long-serving Admiral [[Georg Alexander von Müller]]. The existing Imperial admiralty was abolished and its responsibilities divided between two organisations. A new position of Chief of the [[German Imperial Naval High Command|Imperial Naval High Command]] was created, being responsible for ship deployments, strategy and tactics, an equivalent to the supreme commander of the Army. Vice admiral [[Max von der Goltz]] was appointed in 1889 and remained in post until 1895. Construction and maintenance of ships and obtaining supplies was the responsibility of the State Secretary of the [[German Imperial Naval Office|Imperial Navy Office]] (''Reichsmarineamt''), responsible to the chancellor and advising the Reichstag on naval matters. The first appointee was Rear Admiral [[Karl Eduard Heusner]], followed shortly by Rear Admiral [[Friedrich von Hollmann]] from 1890 to 1897. Each of these three heads of department reported separately to Wilhelm II.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=21–23}}

In 1895 funding was agreed for five battleships of the {{sclass|Kaiser Friedrich III|battleship|4}}, completed by 1902. The ships were innovative for their time, introducing a complex system of watertight compartments and storing coal along the sides of the ship to help absorb explosions. However, the ships went against the trend for increasingly larger main guns, having smaller diameter guns than the ''Brandenburg'' design, but with a quick-loading design and more powerful secondary armaments. Costs rose to 21&nbsp;million marks each, as had size to 11,500 tons.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|p=26}}

In 1892 Germany had launched the protected cruiser {{SMS|Kaiserin Augusta}}, the first navy ship to have triple propellers. She was succeeded by five {{sclass|Victoria Louise|cruiser|0}} protected cruisers, the last 'protected', as distinct from 'armoured' cruiser class constructed by Germany. The ships, completed between 1898 and 1900, had deck armour but not side armour and were intended for overseas duties. Shortages of funding meant it was not possible to create several designs of cruisers specialised for long range work, or more heavily armoured for fleet work. Work commenced on an armoured cruiser design, {{SMS|Fürst Bismarck|1897|6}} started in 1896 and commissioned in 1900.