ABSTRACT
Alfred von Tirpitz required a new navy law at the latest in 1906 when according to the law of 1900 only two keels would be laid down and thus the prospect of achieving a permanent building rate of three large ships per year would be jeopardized. He had already stated his intention of coming forward with a new bill as early as in 1901–1902. In February 1905 the Imperial Naval Office approved the minimal request of six large cruisers and groped toward an arrangement whereby the building rate would be stabilized at three large ships as long as possible and ships of the line would be replaced by new models before construction would be started on the new large cruisers. More expensive than the need to improve war preparedness was the further escalation in ship types. Tirpitz thus definitely anticipated a deterioration in Anglo-German relations as a result of the decision to match Great Britain in ship types.
