Editing Imperial German Navy (section)

==1897 to 1906, Tirpitz and the Navy bills==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 134-C1743, Alfred von Tirpitz.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Alfred von Tirpitz]]
On 18 June 1897 Rear-Admiral [[Alfred von Tirpitz]] was appointed State Secretary of the Navy, where he remained for nineteen years. Tirpitz advocated the cause of an expanded navy necessary for Germany to defend her territories abroad. He had great success in persuading parliament to pass successive [[German Naval Laws|Navy bills]] authorising expansions of the fleet.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|p=35}} German foreign policy as espoused by [[Otto von Bismarck]] had been to deflect the interest of great powers abroad while Germany consolidated her integration and military strength. Now Germany was to compete with the rest. Tirpitz started with a publicity campaign aimed at popularising the navy. He created popular magazines about the navy, arranged for Alfred Thayer Mahan's ''[[The Influence of Sea Power upon History]]'', which argued the importance of naval forces, to be translated into German and serialised in newspapers, arranged rallies in support and invited politicians and industrialists to naval reviews. Various pressure groups were formed to lobby politicians and spread publicity. One such organisation, the [[Navy League (Germany)|navy league]] or ''Flottenverein'', was organized by principals in the steel industry ([[Alfred Krupp]]), ship yards and banks, gaining more than one million members. Political parties were offered concessions, such as taxes on imported grain, in exchange for their support for naval bills.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=41–42}}

On 10 April 1898 the first Navy Bill was passed by the ''Reichstag''. It authorised the maintenance of a fleet of 19 battleships, 8 armoured cruisers, 12 large cruisers and 30 light cruisers to be constructed by 1 April 1904. Existing ships were counted in the total, but the bill provided for ships to be replaced every 25 years on an indefinite basis. Five million marks annually was allocated to run the navy, with a total budget of 408&nbsp;million marks for shipbuilding. This would bring the German fleet to a strength where it could contemplate challenging France or Russia, but would remain clearly inferior to the world's largest fleet, the Royal Navy.

Following the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in China and the [[Boer War]], a second navy bill was passed on 14 June 1900. This approximately doubled the allocated number of ships to 38 battleships, 20 armoured cruisers, 38 light cruisers. Significantly, the bill set no overall cost limit for the building program. Expenditure for the navy was too great to be met from taxation: the Reichstag had limited powers to extend taxation without entering into negotiations with the constituent German states, and this was considered politically unviable. Instead, the bill was financed by massive loans. Tirpitz, in 1899 was already exploring the possibilities for extending the battleship total to 45, a target which rose to 48 by 1909.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|p=42}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 134-B2651, Kaiser Wilhelm II. (m.) auf der SMS "Geier".jpg|thumb|left|Kaiser Wilhelm II on board the light cruiser {{SMS|Geier}} in 1894]]
Tirpitz's ultimate goal was a fleet capable of [[Tirpitz Plan|rivaling the Royal Navy]]. As British public opinion was turned against Germany, [[John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher|Admiral Sir John Fisher]] twice – in 1904 and 1908 – proposed using Britain's current naval superiority to '[[Copenhagenization (naval)|Copenhagen]]' the German fleet, that is, to launch pre-emptive strikes against the Kiel and Wilhelmshaven naval bases as the Royal Navy had done against the Danish navy in 1801 and 1807."{{sfnp|Gottschall|2003|p=260}} Tirpitz argued that if the fleet could achieve two-thirds the number of capital ships possessed by Britain then it stood a chance of winning in a conflict. Britain had to maintain a fleet throughout the world and consider other naval powers, whereas the German fleet could be concentrated in German waters. Attempts were made to play down the perceived threat to Britain, but once the German fleet reached the position of equalling the other second-rank navies, it became impossible to avoid mention of the one great fleet it was intended to challenge. Tirpitz hoped that other second-rank powers might ally with Germany, attracted by its navy. The policy of commencing what amounted to a naval [[arms race]] did not properly consider how Britain might respond. British policy, stated in the Naval Defence Act of 1889, was to maintain a navy superior to Britain's two largest rivals combined. The British Admiralty estimated that the German navy would be the world's second largest by 1906.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=36–37}}

Major reforms of the Royal Navy were undertaken, particularly by Fisher as [[First Sea Lord]] from 1904 to 1909. 154 older ships, including 17 battleships, were scrapped to make way for newer vessels. Reforms in training and gunnery were introduced to make good perceived deficiencies, which in part Tirpitz had counted upon to provide his ships with a margin of superiority. More capital ships were stationed in British home waters. [[Anglo-Japanese Alliance|A treaty with Japan]] in 1902 meant that ships could be withdrawn from East Asia, while the ''[[Entente Cordiale]]'' with France in 1904 meant that Britain could concentrate on guarding [[English Channel|Channel]] waters, including the French coast, while France would protect British interests in the [[Mediterranean]]. By 1906 it was considered that Britain's only likely naval enemy was Germany.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=48–50}}

[[File:German High Seas Fleet (Hoschseeflotte) during World War I.jpg|thumb|right|The German High Seas Fleet, with a member of the {{sclass|Braunschweig|battleship|4}} in the lead]]
Five battleships of the {{sclass|Wittelsbach|battleship|4}} were constructed from 1899 to 1904 at a cost of 22&nbsp;million marks per ship. Five ships of the {{sclass|Braunschweig|battleship|4}} were built between 1901 and 1906 for the slightly greater 24&nbsp;million marks each. Technological improvements meant that rapid fire guns could be made larger, so the ''Braunschweig'' class had a main armament of {{cvt|28|cm|in}} guns. Due to torpedo improvements in range and accuracy, emphasis was placed on a secondary armament of smaller guns to defend against them. The five {{sclass|Deutschland|battleship|2}}s constructed between 1903 and 1908 had similar armament as the ''Braunschweig'' class, but heavier armour, for the slightly greater sum of 24.5&nbsp;million marks each.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=43–44}}

Development of armoured cruisers also continued. ''Fürst Bismarck''{{'}}s design was improved upon in the subsequent {{SMS|Prinz Heinrich||2}}, completed in 1902. Two ships of the {{sclass|Prinz Adalbert|cruiser|4}} were commissioned in 1904, followed by two similar {{sclass|Roon|cruiser|0}} armoured cruisers commissioned in 1905 and 1906, at costs around 17&nbsp;million marks each.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=27–28}} {{SMS|Scharnhorst}} and {{SMS|Gneisenau}} followed, between 1904 and 1908, and cost an estimated for 20.3&nbsp;million marks. Main armament was eight {{cvt|21|cm}} guns, but with six {{cvt|15|cm}} and eighteen {{cvt|8.8|cm}} guns for smaller targets. Eight {{sclass|Bremen|cruiser|0}} light cruisers were constructed between 1902 and 1907, developed from the earlier {{sclass|Gazelle|cruiser|4}}. The ships had ten {{convert|10.5|cm}} guns and were named after German towns. {{SMS|Lübeck}} was the first German cruiser to be fitted with [[Steam turbine|turbine engines]], which were also trialled in torpedo boat ''S-125''. Turbines were faster, quieter, lighter, more reliable and more fuel efficient at high speeds. The first British experimental design (the destroyer {{HMS|Velox}}) had been constructed in 1901 and as a result Tirpitz had set up a special commission to develop turbines. No reliable German design was available by 1903, so British [[Charles Algernon Parsons|Parsons]] turbines were purchased.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=44–45}}

===Command reorganisation===
In 1899, the Imperial Naval High Command was replaced by the [[German Imperial Admiralty Staff]] (''Admiralstab'') responsible for planning, the training of officers, and naval intelligence. In time of war it was to assume overall command, but in peace acted only advisory. Direct control of various elements of the fleet was subordinated to officers commanding those elements, accountable to the Kaiser.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|p=22}}

The reorganisations suited the Kaiser who wanted to maintain direct control of his ships. A disadvantage was that it split apart the integrated military command structure which before had balanced the importance of the navy within overall defence considerations. It suited Alfred von Tirpitz, because it removed the influence of the admiralty staff from naval planning, but left him the possibility, in wartime, to reorganise command around himself. Wilhelm II, however, never agreed to relinquish direct control of his fleet.{{sfnp|Herwig|1987|pp=22–23}}