The Arms Race Flashcards
What did the Kaiser want? How did he go about this?
He wanted Germany to be a major world power
Germany began to follow the policy of ‘Weltpolitik’ which was aimed at getting Germany the respect it deserved
The Kaiser was jelous of British Empire and felt Germany should have a ‘Place in the Sun’
The Kaiser wanter to turn Germnay into a huge trading nation, for this he would need an African Empire
→ Also to become an imperial empire it needed a strong empire
What did Germany do to its Navy?
The Kaiser ordered the head of the German Navy to build its navy rapidly and attempted to double it between 1900-1914 so that it could rival Britains
How did Britain respond to Germanys increase in Navy
They saw it as a direct threat to their nation and empire, especially after 1906 when both countries began to build Dreadnoughts
They had a policy called the ‘Two Power Standard’ - where the Royal navy had to be bigger than the next 2 biggest navies combined - so it wouldn’t be outnumbered at sea
How many Dreadnoughts did Britain and Germany have in 1914?
Britain - 29
Germany - 17
