ABSTRACT
Alfred von Tirpitz was summoned back from East Asia on 31 March 1897 to take over the Imperial Naval Office. At first he hesitated in taking on his new responsibilities; then he returned at his leisure, not arriving in Berlin before June 1897. The Imperial Naval Office proceeded under the direction of Buchsel to reduce the demands of the High Command to the level of its requirements as stated in the memorandum of 28 November 1895. According to an estimate of the Admiralty Staff of January 1900, prepared by Grapow who was in charge of operations against Britain, the strength of the German navy provided by the First Navy Law would not suffice to break a British blockade of the German coast if it were obligingly undertaken. Although Tirpitz had to satisfy himself with fewer ships than he originally proposed to build, the Second Navy Law would none the less have provided him with a formidable forc.
