ABSTRACT
The accession of Kaiser Wilhelm II had provided the navy with “all-highest” patronage and the departure of Leo von Caprivi from the Admiralty had freed it from the leadership of generals. The preparations made for the defense of Heligoland and the much-sought Baltic-North Sea canal would by 1895 very much improve its strategic position and free it from the concerns voiced in the plans of 1887 and 1889 about the role of Denmark in a war against Russia and France. While Caprivi concerned himself with the increase of the army and Friedrich Hollmann was content with a hand-to-mouth existence for the navy, the High Command of the Navy came under the influence of Tirpitz, who was appointed Chief of Staff in January 1892. Tirpitz’s thinking was also beginning to concern itself with the use of the fleet against Britain, its importance for German imperialism, and its potential against Social Democracy.
