"Has the Imperial Navy's strength now completely surpassed that of the British Royal Navy?" Wilhelm II asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Whether in the number of modern capital ships or their combat power, we have already surpassed the British. Of course, if pre-dreadnoughts are included, the British still possess the largest number of battleships in the world. However, those old pre-dreadnoughts have virtually no combat power in naval warfare," Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said.
The German Navy also had more than twenty pre-dreadnoughts. Now that dreadnoughts and super-Dreadnoughts had become the stars of naval warfare, those pre-dreadnoughts could only be used more as coastal defense warships. Once this war ended, their dismantling was already inevitable.
The German Navy's modern capital ships included four Nassau-class battleships, five Helgoland-class battleships, five Kaiser-class battleships, five Kaiser class battleships, three Blücher-class battlecruisers, three Moltke-class battlecruisers, and three Derfflinger class battlecruisers. In total, there were nineteen battleships and nine battlecruisers. In addition, five Bavaria-class battleships and three Mackensen-class battlecruisers were under construction. Once all were completed, the German Navy would possess twenty-four modern battleships and twelve battlecruisers.
As for the British Navy, it currently had one Dreadnought battleship, three Bellerophon-class battleships, three St. Vincent-class battleships, one Neptune battleship, two Colossus-class battleships, four Orion-class battleships, one King George V-class battleship, two Invincible-class battlecruisers, one Indefatigable-class battlecruiser, two Lion-class battlecruisers, and the Tiger battlecruiser—for a total of fourteen battleships and six battlecruisers. Of course, the British Navy also had five Queen Elizabeth-class battleships and five Revenge-class battleships about to enter service. Once they had all entered service, the British Navy would possess twenty-four battleships and six battlecruisers.
Naturally, Germany did not know that the British had requisitioned two battleships built for the Ottoman Turkish Empire and one built for Chile, increasing the British Navy's number of battleships by