#armsrace

The Anglo-German Arms Race: Riding the Waves to WWI

The pre-First World War arms race between Britain and Germany was fuelled by Britain's desire to protect its empire, Germany's desire to build an empire, and a general atmosphere of suspicion amongst the great powers, which led to the formation of two opposing alliance blocs. Dreadnought battleships became a particular point of competition between the Royal Navy and the Imperial German Navy, a race ultimately won by Britain. The arms race was not the only or even main reason war broke out in Europe in 1914, but it was certainly one of many causes of WWI.

The Kaiser's Weltpolitik

Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) came to power as emperor of Germany in 1888 (reigning until 1918), and he pushed for more territorial and military expansion in order to secure the natural resources Germany's booming economy demanded. This new policy was called 'World Policy' or Weltpolitik. Wilhelm II's chancellor, Bernhard von Bülow (1849-1929), and the naval minister, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930), were both in wholehearted agreement with this policy, which had the added advantage of distracting the population from domestic problems such as the weakening of the power of the Junker Prussian landowners in the ongoing process of industrialisation and democratisation. In short, Germany's empire was tiny compared to those of Britain and France. Something would have to be done to restore German pride. To take territory from rival powers required more spending on arms. Popular support for Germany's aggressive foreign policy and armament was whipped up by a jingoistic press. Kaiser Wilhelm certainly thought he could expand German territory at relatively little cost since he believed (as did most military experts) that a conflict in Europe would surely be a short one.

The policy of Weltpolitik only worsened the pervading instability in international relations. As the historian F. McDonough states: "The policy created a great deal of tension, accomplished very little, and soured international relations" (9). As the historian D. Khan adds: "From the 1890s imperial Germany was a fundamentally dissatisfied power, eager to disrupt the status quo and to achieve its expansive goals, by bullying if possible, by war if necessary" (209). In short, Germany was now widely seen as enemy number one when it came to world peace. Countries began to form alliances to counter Germany's rising power.

Germany's target in the arms race was to try and catch the global frontrunner: Great Britain. In 1897, the kaiser tasked Admiral Tirpitz with constructing a 'world-class navy', a project instigated by the 1898 and 1900 German Navy Laws. By the early years of the 20th century, France was "a second-class naval power" (Bruce, 139), and with the United States pursuing a policy of isolationism, Germany saw an opportunity to expand its navy, which could become a vital tool in the Weltpolitik programme of imperial expansion. Tirpitz's ambitious and highly secret plan was to build a giant fleet of 60 battleships by 1920.

Germany certainly felt threatened by the shifting international alliances, and a strong navy might well prove to be an effective deterrent. In 1894, France and Russia signed a treaty. In 1902, Britain signed an alliance with Japan. In 1904, Britain and France signed an agreement, the Entente Cordiale, which removed conflicts of interest in Africa and Asia but did not cover mutual assistance in the case of a war in Europe. The kaiser may have believed that if the German navy were powerful enough, it could deter Britain from entering any future war in Europe. The results of this armament policy were quickly in evidence: Germany built 14 battleships between 1900 and 1905. The problem for Germany was that keeping such huge things as battleships a secret from foreign spies was nigh impossible.

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Images of my Childhood

I’m seeing stuff from some younger folk asking "Since when has Russia been our enemy?"  That came as shocking to someone who grew up during the “Cold War.” When America and Russia first developed nuclear weapons - and pointed them at each other.

These are the images of my childhood - Along with those of hunting salamanders in the Glen with my friends, were those of the devastation we wreaked on the people of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. And those on the nightly news of huge mushroom clouds rising above some distant atoll in the Pacific.

Images on TV of President Regan calling the Soviet Union "The Evil Empire. Of neighbors digging bomb shelters, and of Khrushchev telling us "We will bury you!"  

And those of monthly "Duck and Cover drills in school when we’d duck under our desks and cover our ears - We knew it was pointless. With Russian missiles pointing at our military bases and cities, we just knew we’d be vaporized in one horrific instant.