Chapter Summaries

Oscar presented his battleship design to the German Empire Navy’s Demonstration Conference and defended its unusual all-big-gun armament and triple turrets against questions from naval experts. The conference remained underway as his answers began to impress his critics.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz addressed the conference and stressed the importance of carefully evaluating Oscar’s design.
• Oscar introduced his battleship’s specifications, including three triple turrets with 305mm guns, heavy armor, and a top speed of 21 knots.
• Sir Dietrich questioned why Oscar had omitted secondary main guns, and Oscar argued that long-range battles would favor concentrated all-big-gun firepower.
• Commodore Gussad challenged the weight and accuracy of triple turrets, and Oscar proposed delaying the middle gun’s firing by 0.5 seconds to prevent muzzle-blast interference.
• Commodore Gussad recognized that Oscar’s proposed solution to the firing problem could work.

Oscar argued that Germany should adopt oil-fired boilers, Steam Turbines, and 305mm guns for his Battleship design, but the Naval Technical Committee rejected it as too bold and unproven. The proposal was left unapproved, while Crown Prince Wilhelm appeared pleased by Oscar’s defeat.

• Bruckner warned that Germany lacked experience with oil-fired boilers and Steam Turbines, while Oscar argued that trials could help Germany catch up with Britain.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm objected that Germany lacked petroleum, but Oscar argued that oil could be stockpiled before war.
• Prince Heinrich praised Oscar’s Battleship design, and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz said its technical problems could be overcome with focused work.
• Commodore Gussad challenged Oscar’s choice of 305mm Main Guns, and Oscar argued Germany needed larger guns to match Britain.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm urged the experts to reach a decision, and the Naval Technical Committee unanimously opposed Oscar’s design.
• Count von Warren announced that the proposal could not be approved, and Crown Prince Wilhelm consoled Oscar while hiding his glee.

After the Naval Technical Committee rejected his battleship design, Oscar confronted its experts and Crown Prince Wilhelm, who had pushed for the rejection. Oscar left by declaring he would fund and build the battleship himself, regardless of the committee’s decision.

• Oscar condemned the Naval Technical Committee for rejecting his design and warned that its choice would leave the German Navy behind Britain.
• Sir Dietrich mocked Oscar’s experience, while Count von Warren called for an end to the argument and Crown Prince Wilhelm demanded an apology.
• Oscar refused to apologize, and Crown Prince Wilhelm threatened to report his behavior to the Emperor.
• Oscar revealed that he would build the battleship himself because he was gifting it to the Navy and had enough money to fund it.
• Prince Heinrich smiled and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz recognized that Oscar had made the committee’s opposition irrelevant.

After the Naval Technical Committee rejected Oscar’s Battleship design, Prince Heinrich encouraged him to build it independently, though finding a shipyard seemed difficult. Wilhelm II reprimanded Oscar for his outburst but ultimately pledged his support, leaving Oscar free to pursue the warship.

• Oscar left the Naval Technical Committee after arguing with its members, and Prince Heinrich praised his achievements and urged him to build his Battleship himself.
• Oscar warned Prince Heinrich that shipyards might refuse to work with him because of their ties to the Committee.
• At Christmas dinner, Crown Prince Wilhelm gloated over Oscar’s clash with the Committee, while Wilhelm II summoned Oscar to his study.
• Oscar admitted that he had acted impulsively, then defended his design and claimed it would surpass Britain’s next Battleship.
• Wilhelm II agreed to support Oscar and told him to proceed with building the Battleship.

Oscar sought a shipyard where he could build his Battleship, and Wilhelm II persuaded him to acquire the Imperial Shipyard in Danzig instead of the more capable Royal Shipyard. Oscar agreed to buy the loss-making yard for fifty million marks, with payment in installments.

• Oscar told Wilhelm II that he could afford a Battleship but feared the Naval Technical Committee would prevent shipyards from building it.
• Oscar proposed building his own shipyard, and Wilhelm II suggested acquiring an existing one instead.
• Oscar thought Wilhelm II meant the Royal Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven, but Wilhelm II clarified that he was offering the Imperial Shipyard in Danzig.
• Oscar objected that the Imperial Shipyard lacked the facilities and expertise to build Battleships, and Wilhelm II promised to expand it and transfer engineers.
• Wilhelm II urged Oscar to take over the loss-making shipyard, and Oscar agreed after bargaining over the price.
• Wilhelm II set the price at fifty million marks and allowed Oscar to pay in installments, while Oscar said he had only ten million marks available.

Oscar secured Wilhelm II’s agreement to fund and expand the Imperial Shipyard and persuaded him to order four battleships based on Oscar’s design, provided they met their promised specifications. Wilhelm II named the design the Nassau-class Battleship.

• Oscar asked Wilhelm II for 120 million Marks to expand the Imperial Shipyard with large slipways, and Wilhelm II agreed to lend the money alongside the 50 million Mark purchase price, with 200 million Marks due within three years including interest.
• Oscar argued that future battleships would exceed 30,000 tons and that Germany needed to prepare its shipyards for them.
• Oscar proposed repaying the 200 million Marks by having his shipyard build four battleships for the German Navy, and Wilhelm II agreed on the condition that they perform close to Oscar’s specifications.
• Oscar asked Wilhelm II to name the New-style Battleship, and Wilhelm II called it the Nassau-class Battleship.

Oscar took ownership of the Imperial Shipyard, renamed it the German Shipyard, and began reorganizing it to build his advanced Nassau-class battleships. After appointing Brutt as director and inspecting the yard in Danzig, Oscar left its expansion and development in Brutt’s hands and returned to Berlin.

• Wilhelm II named Oscar’s four planned battleships the Nassau class and transferred the Imperial Shipyard and a restricted 120-million-Mark loan to him.
• Essen von Jonath introduced Oscar to Brutt, whom Oscar hired to direct the shipyard, along with several experienced staff members.
• Oscar renamed the Imperial Shipyard the German Shipyard and told Brutt to expand it, acquire new technology, and recruit skilled workers to build the Nassau-class battleships.
• Oscar and Brutt traveled to Danzig, where they replaced most of the shipyard’s management while retaining nearly all its workers.
• After two days, Oscar left the German Shipyard’s development to Brutt and returned to Berlin.

Crown Prince Wilhelm challenged Wilhelm II over the support given to Oscar, fearing Oscar’s success would threaten his position as heir. After Wilhelm II defended the shipyard transfer and loan, Crown Prince Wilhelm left determined that Oscar must not be allowed to keep rising.

• Crown Prince Wilhelm accused Wilhelm II of harming the royal family’s interests by transferring the Imperial Shipyard to Oscar cheaply and lending him 120 million marks.
• Wilhelm II reprimanded Crown Prince Wilhelm for his jealousy and urged him to become a more broad-minded leader.
• Wilhelm II explained that Oscar’s loan would bear interest and that his Battleships would qualify as the German Navy’s Next-class Battleship only if they met the required standards.
• Crown Prince Wilhelm concealed his resentment during the lecture and left after an hour.
• Back in his room, Crown Prince Wilhelm vowed that Oscar could not be allowed to continue developing.

Oscar discussed the German Welfare Lottery Company's growth with Karl and decided to expand abroad as Germany's lottery market neared its limits. He left the company with a phased plan to enter European markets, beginning with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy.

• Oscar asked Karl how the German Welfare Lottery Company was developing, and Karl reported that Double Color Ball held at least half of Germany's lottery market.
• Karl warned Oscar that the domestic market would soon reach a bottleneck, and Oscar ruled out relying on new lottery formats alone to raise profits.
• Oscar chose foreign expansion as the company's next source of growth and named the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy as its first targets.
• Oscar set Britain and France as the second expansion targets, then planned to pursue the remaining countries if the earlier rounds succeeded.

Oscar planned the German Welfare Lottery Company's expansion into the United States and other foreign markets, while overseeing the German Shipyard's preparations to build Nassau-class battleships. He turned to Krupp to resolve the battleship's main gun and armor challenges.

• Oscar told Karl to expand the lottery company abroad in three rounds and include the United States in the first round.
• Oscar instructed Karl to enlist local strongmen in foreign markets by offering them a share of profits originally allocated to the royal family.
• Brutt expanded the German Shipyard, built new slipways, recruited workers, and poached talent from rival shipyards as it prepared to build four Nassau-class battleships.
• Oscar arranged for the shipyard to seek Curtis steam turbine technology from the United States and identified Krupp as the likely source of the battleship's guns and armor.
• Oscar ordered Karl to contact Krupp and arranged to visit the company the next day.

Oscar visited Bertha Krupp to arrange supplies for the expanded German Shipyard, revealing plans for large-scale warship construction. He also presented Krupp with blueprints for triple-mounted 305mm naval guns, leaving Bertha to assess the ambitious order.

• Oscar arrived at Krupp Company, where Bertha Krupp welcomed him and showed him the headquarters.
• Oscar told Bertha that he had acquired the Imperial Shipyard and renamed it the German Shipyard.
• Oscar said he had invested over a hundred million Mark to expand the shipyard and planned to order eighty thousand tons of steel, including twenty thousand tons of armor steel.
• Oscar presented Bertha with blueprints for triple-mounted 305mm, fifty-caliber naval guns, and she frowned at the design.

Oscar persuaded Beta Krupp to develop and supply triple-mounted 305mm 50-caliber naval guns for his battleships, despite Krupp’s concerns about the technical challenge and limited profit. Beta agreed to cooperate, and Oscar left her with a warning that naval gun caliber and power must keep increasing.

• Beta Krupp explained that Krupp had only developed rapid-firing 280mm guns and lacked the experience to build triple-mounted 305mm guns.
• Oscar rejected the 280mm guns and argued that Germany needed larger-caliber main guns to keep pace with Britain.
• Oscar offered an order exceeding twelve mounts and thirty-six guns, with the possibility of further purchases, to persuade Beta to fund development.
• Beta asked whether German Shipyard was preparing the Navy’s next class of capital ships, and Oscar confirmed he was building battleships ahead of time in hopes they would win the Navy’s approval.
• Beta agreed to cooperate with Oscar, who reminded her that main-gun caliber should keep increasing and that 50-caliber guns were best.

Oscar pushed German firms to develop larger naval guns, oil-fired boilers, and steam turbines for the Nassau-class Battleship, then traveled to Augsburg to recruit Diesel for his new German Power Manufacturing Company. He hoped Diesel would lead its engine development and avoid the inventor’s premature death.

• Oscar gave Krupp Company two years to develop large-caliber main guns for the Nassau-class Battleship.
• Oscar arranged to purchase Curtis steam-turbine technology from the United States and ordered forty-eight oil-fired boilers from Sulzer Boiler Company.
• Oscar planned German Power Manufacturing Company to produce engines for automobiles, warships, aircraft, and submarines.
• At the end of January 1905, Oscar traveled to Augsburg to recruit Diesel as the technical leader of his new company.

Oscar traveled to Augsburg to rescue Rudolf Diesel from financial ruin and recruit him to the German Engine Manufacturing Plant. Diesel was stunned by Oscar’s offer, but the chapter ended before he accepted.

• Oscar went to Diesel’s struggling workshop in Augsburg and found him surrounded by engine parts.
• Diesel explained that few buyers accepted his engine and that he feared he could not continue his work.
• Oscar introduced himself as Prince Oskar and offered to buy Diesel’s patents for five million Mark and fund his research.
• Oscar proposed establishing a research center and factory in Augsburg so Diesel could continue developing improved engines.

Oscar expanded his engine and shipbuilding enterprises as Germany’s dispute with France over Morocco escalated. At an Imperial Council meeting, Crown Prince Wilhelm and Bülow urged a hard line, while the crisis remained unresolved.

• Oscar hired Diesel as chief engineer, bought the patents for Diesel’s engine, and founded the German Engine Manufacturing Company in May 1905.
• Oscar expanded the German Shipyard and organized engineers to study Curtis steam turbine technology for future battleship engines.
• France sought to place Morocco under its influence, and Wilhelm II’s visit to Tangier and Bülow’s call for an international conference heightened tensions with France.
• Delcassé resigned after a fierce French Cabinet debate, and Germany and France agreed to hold an international conference on Morocco.
• At an Imperial Council meeting, Crown Prince Wilhelm urged Wilhelm II to use military strength against France, and Bülow cited German public anger over the dispute.

Wilhelm II’s ministers debated whether Germany could risk war with France and examined the military strength of its allies and enemies. The chapter left Germany facing a stark naval disadvantage against Britain, making a successful war and escape from blockade seem unlikely.

• Wilhelm II dismissed von Kiderlen-Wachth’s fears and argued that Germany could defeat France if war broke out.
• Moltke the Younger warned that British and Russian intervention would force Germany to divide its forces, while Crown Prince Wilhelm insisted Austria-Hungary and Italy would help.
• Wilhelm II rebuffed the Crown Prince and asked Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz whether the German Navy could break a British blockade.
• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz listed Germany’s battleships and revealed that Britain had more than twice as many, leaving the ministers alarmed at the naval imbalance.

Wilhelm II and his officials acknowledged that Germany could not yet challenge Britain at sea and agreed to restrain their stance in the Moroccan Crisis. After the Algeciras Conference humiliated Germany, public pressure drove Parliament to expand the naval buildup.

• Tirpitz explained Germany's severe disadvantage in Capital Ships, and Wilhelm II ordered restraint while seeking to protect German interests in Morocco.
• Wilhelm II considered Oscar's preparations to build New-style Battleships at the German Shipyard and recognized his son’s talent.
• On November 18, 1905, the German Shipyard completed its expansion, and Oscar began construction of four Nassau-class Battleships the next day.
• In January 1906, the Algeciras Conference produced a treaty that recognized Morocco's independence and granted France and Spain policing rights while promising to protect German interests.
• Amid public outrage over the outcome, the German Parliament amended the Naval Law, increasing shipbuilding funds and setting ambitious fleet targets for 1917.

The British Navy launched HMS Dreadnought, its new all-big-gun Battleship, and Admiral Sir John Fisher presented it as a leap that would make older Battleships obsolete. The launch strengthened Britain’s confidence in its naval supremacy, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman supported building more ships to preserve that advantage.

• On February 10, 1906, the British Navy launched HMS Dreadnought at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard after completing its main construction in just over four months.
• The Shipyard Director told Admiral Sir John Fisher that fitting-out would begin immediately and that sea trials were expected within six to eight months.
• Admiral Sir John Fisher described HMS Dreadnought’s all-big-gun armament, steam turbines, speed, and armor, then declared at the ceremony that the ship would help keep the Royal Navy unchallenged.
• After the launch, Admiral Sir John Fisher returned to London and reported on HMS Dreadnought to Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
• Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman agreed that Britain could replace its obsolete Battleships and use its financial resources and shipbuilding capacity to maintain naval superiority.

British Prime Minister Sir Bannerman and Admiral Sir John Fisher celebrated Britain’s lead in building new battleships and planned even more advanced ships. After German intelligence obtained the specifications of HMS Dreadnought, Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz and Wilhelm II blamed the Naval Technical Committee for rejecting Oscar’s design, and Wilhelm summoned its chairman to an Imperial Council.

• Sir Bannerman and Admiral Sir John Fisher discussed the British New-style Battleship and their confidence that Germany could not catch up quickly.
• Admiral Sir John Fisher told Sir Bannerman that the Bellerophon-class design was complete, three ships would be built, and Britain was developing 13.5-inch guns for super-Dreadnoughts.
• German naval intelligence obtained HMS Dreadnought’s specifications and sent them to the German Naval Ministry.
• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz raged that the Naval Technical Committee had rejected Oscar’s design and regretted failing to fight harder for it.
• Wilhelm II condemned the Naval Technical Committee and ordered an Imperial Council attended by Count von Warren.

Wilhelm II and his advisers confronted the damage caused by Britain’s Dreadnought, which had made Germany’s battleship program obsolete and exposed the Naval Technical Committee’s rejection of Prince Oskar’s design as a grave mistake. They left the meeting ready to adopt Oskar’s design for Germany’s next generation of capital ships and try to catch up with Britain.

• Wilhelm II asked his advisers to assess Britain’s newly launched Dreadnought, and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz identified it as the battleship Britain had secretly developed.
• Prince Heinrich explained the Dreadnought’s all-big-gun design and noted that Prince Oskar’s rejected design could bring even more guns to bear and offer stronger defenses.
• Wilhelm II said Britain was basing its next battleships on the Dreadnought, rendering Germany’s completed and unfinished ships obsolete.
• Count von Warren admitted that the Naval Technical Committee had misjudged the future of battleship design, while Chancellor Bülow urged Wilhelm II to focus on a remedy rather than punishment.
• Count von Warren proposed adopting Prince Oskar’s design, and Prince Heinrich said Germany could still catch up with Britain and might even narrow the gap.