Abstract
"We all know that blood is assuredly about to be shed, and the longer we wait the more there will be. Few, however, have the courage to imitate Frederick the Great, and not one dares the deed. " |All attempts by the Government of Great Britain to bring about an adjustment of differences with Germany were stalemated throughout the controversial period from 1898 to 1912 by the question of naval rivalry. Always present to obstruct negotiations was the resolute Admiral von Tirpitz. When von Tirpitz was recalled from service in Eastern Asia in the spring of 1897 to head the Admiralty, the German fleet was far inferior to that of England.