Chapter Summaries

Oscar accepted his appointment as acting Crown Prince, despite knowing that Crown Prince Wilhelm could reclaim the position if he recovered. After Wilhelm II issued the decree, Oscar formally took office amid mixed reactions from Germany’s upper classes and royal family.

• Oscar told Field Marshal Count Tirpitz that Wilhelm II had appointed him acting Crown Prince and that the position would revert to Crown Prince Wilhelm if he recovered before Oscar ascended the throne.
• Field Marshal Count Tirpitz protested the decision, but Oscar urged him not to challenge Wilhelm II and pledged to strengthen the navy and win future wars.
• Oscar reflected that his fate was now bound to Germany’s and that he had to prove himself while he held the position.
• On December 27, Wilhelm II issued an imperial edict appointing Oscar acting Crown Prince because Crown Prince Wilhelm could not perform his duties.
• Germany’s upper classes reacted with both support and objections, while many ordinary people supported Oscar because of the German Welfare Lottery Company’s social programs.
• Prince Eitel Friedrich and Oscar’s other brothers opposed the appointment, but Wilhelm II rebuked them, and Oscar formally became acting Crown Prince.

After Oscar became acting Crown Prince of Germany, Britain judged him a more formidable rival and prepared for war while pursuing an alliance with Russia. Germany expanded its navy, and the British-Russian agreement in August 1907 formally established the Triple Entente.

• Bannerman, Asquith, and Grey discussed Oscar’s succession and concluded that Germany was an increasingly dangerous rival.
• Bannerman asked whether Oscar could be persuaded to change German foreign policy, but Asquith and Grey said conflict with Germany was unavoidable.
• Bannerman ordered Britain to prepare thoroughly for war, and Grey reported that Britain was intensifying contacts with Russia.
• Germany launched and fitted out Nassau-class battleships, began building Wittelsbach-class battleships, and advanced construction of Blücher-class battlecruisers.
• Izvolsky and Nicholson signed an agreement dividing colonial territories, bringing Britain and Russia together in the Triple Entente.

Wilhelm II convened an emergency council after Britain, France, and Russia formed a military alliance, and his ministers debated how Germany should respond. Oscar warned that Italy might betray the Triple Alliance if the Entente offered it greater benefits, leaving Wilhelm II and other officials to consider the weakness of relying on treaties.

• Wilhelm II gathered Germany’s senior officials, including Crown Prince Oscar, to discuss the growing threat posed by Britain, France, and Russia.
• Moltke the Younger argued that Germany had prepared for the alliance and could still prevail by continuing to grow stronger.
• Bernhard von Bülow suggested that the threat might bring the Triple Alliance closer together.
• Oscar warned that Italy’s conflicts with Austria-Hungary could lead it to abandon Germany and its allies for better offers from Britain, France, and Russia.
• von Kiderlen-Wächter questioned whether Italy would violate its treaty, while Tirpitz and Wilhelm II agreed with Oscar that national interests mattered more than treaties.
• Oscar argued that Italy’s interests aligned more closely with Britain, France, and Russia in North Africa, while its rivalry with Austria-Hungary remained stark in the Adriatic Sea.

Wilhelm II’s ministers debated Oscar’s warning that Italy might betray the Empire, and agreed to prepare for that possibility while still trying to preserve the alliance. With war against a coalition of Britain, France, Russia, and possibly Italy seeming unavoidable, Oscar and Wilhelm II urged comprehensive preparations, while Tirpitz and Falkenhayn expressed confidence in the Navy and Army.

• Moltke the Younger objected to Oscar’s suspicion of Italy, but Oscar argued that preparing for a possible betrayal would protect the Empire without harming it if the suspicion proved wrong.
• Wilhelm II approved Oscar’s proposal to prepare against Italy while continuing efforts to win its support.
• Chancellor Bülow warned that Germany and Austria-Hungary would struggle against Britain, France, Russia, and Italy, while Wachth suggested avoiding war.
• Wilhelm II said war could not be avoided unless Germany accepted humiliating terms and abandoned its bid for hegemony.
• Oscar argued that thorough preparations could give the Empire a chance of victory, and Wilhelm II endorsed his confidence.
• Tirpitz cited the Navy’s incoming capital ships, while Falkenhayn declared that the Army could withstand the combined forces of Britain, France, and Russia.

Wilhelm II and Oscar rallied German leaders around preparations for a future war, while Germany’s fast-growing navy continued building powerful capital ships. In September 1907, Admiral Sir John Fisher saw intelligence photographs of the German ships and rushed to alert the British Prime Minister.

• Wilhelm II declared that Germany would prepare for war and predicted victory despite the alliance of Britain, France, and Russia.
• Oscar considered how defeating Britain at sea and France on land could change the outcome of the coming war.
• The German Shipyard continued building Nassau-class battleships, a Helgoland-class battleship, and Blücher-class battlecruisers as Oscar planned further ship classes.
• In September 1907, Admiral Sir John Fisher examined photographs of German capital ships fitted with 305-millimeter guns in three centerline triple turrets.
• Admiral Sir John Fisher ordered a car so he could take the news to the Prime Minister's residence.

Admiral Sir John Fisher showed Prime Minister Sir Bannerman intelligence indicating that Germany’s new Battleships and Battlecruisers were nearing completion, putting the Royal Navy behind in both types of Capital Ships. The chapter left Sir Bannerman and Fisher confronting a crisis for British naval supremacy and sea-lane security.

• Admiral Sir John Fisher presented Sir Bannerman with photographs of German warships obtained by agents who had died gathering the intelligence.
• Fisher told Sir Bannerman that Germany’s Battleships would soon enter service and that Britain had fallen behind in the race to build New-style Capital Ships.
• Fisher speculated that the German Battleships had stronger armor but were slower and no more powerful than British ships, though the narration revealed that German ships were actually faster and had superior broadside firepower.
• Fisher reported that three more German warships were being fitted out and were likely Battlecruisers, threatening Britain’s sea lanes.
• Fisher warned Sir Bannerman that the German Battlecruisers were larger and close to completion, while Britain’s Invincible-class ships would not be ready until much later.

Sir Bannerman’s Cabinet agreed to increase funding for the Royal Navy as Germany’s growing fleet threatened Britain’s naval advantage. Admiral Sir John Fisher promised to accelerate construction and gun development, leaving the ministers confident that Britain would prevail in the naval competition.

• Sir Bannerman warned the Cabinet that Germany’s naval strength had created a crisis for the British Empire.
• Asquith raised concerns about the financial burden, but the ministers supported Admiral Sir John Fisher’s request for more naval funding.
• Sir Bannerman ordered a special appropriation and said he would seek Parliament’s approval.
• Admiral Sir John Fisher outlined plans to speed up Bellerophon-class Battleship and Invincible-class Battlecruiser construction and begin the next classes.
• Sir Edward Gray questioned whether Britain’s planned ships would be enough, and Admiral Sir John Fisher revealed delays in developing the 13-inch main gun.
• Sir Bannerman demanded that the navy preserve its advantage, and Admiral Sir John Fisher pledged to accelerate gun development and build more Battleships.

Admiral Sir John Fisher ordered the Royal Navy to accelerate its Dreadnought construction despite a bottleneck in developing 343mm guns, while other powers launched or expanded their own Battleship programs. The chapter ended with Britain racing to build numerical strength as the United States, France, Italy, and Austria-Hungary pursued new warships.

• Admiral Sir John Fisher secured approval to accelerate Royal Navy construction and ordered the Saint Vincent-class Battleships to begin at once.
• The Royal Navy planned a fleet of fifteen new-style Capital Ships, relying on successive Dreadnought-based classes despite their weaker armor and 305mm guns.
• The United States abandoned Pre-dreadnoughts and began building Dreadnoughts, gradually advancing from the South Carolina-class to the New York-class.
• France began designing and building six Danton-class Battleships but remained focused on countering Germany on land.
• Italy began designing the Dante Battleship, while the Austro-Hungarian Empire began designing the Radetzky-class Battleships.

On November 18, 1907, Wilhelm II, Oscar, and senior German officials gathered at the Danzig shipyard to commission the Battleship Nassau, Germany’s first dreadnought. The ceremony began with Wilhelm II praising the ship, while Oscar and Tirpitz remained convinced that Britain would answer Germany’s naval challenge rather than yield.

• Brutt ordered the shipyard staff to maintain airtight security for the commissioning ceremony.
• Wilhelm II and the other officials arrived at the docks and admired the Battleship Nassau after its sea trials.
• Tirpitz told Wilhelm II that Nassau-class and Helgoland-class battleships had given Germany an advantage over Britain in new battleship construction.
• Oscar and Tirpitz privately dismissed Wilhelm II’s hope that Britain would back down, and recognized that Britain would expand its fleet.
• Naval Technical Committee experts accepted that Nassau was a powerful warship despite its minor flaws.
• Wilhelm II opened the commissioning ceremony with a speech calling Nassau the German Navy’s first dreadnought and a new beginning.

At the commissioning of the Nassau, Oscar and German Navy leaders discussed Germany’s growing fleet and its position against Britain. Moltke the Younger proposed war next year, but Oscar and Wilhelm II rejected the idea, and Oscar prepared to pitch the Moltke-class battlecruisers.

• Oscar formally handed the battleship Nassau over to the German Navy, and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz raised its flag and named its first captain.
• Wilhelm II asked Oscar about the completion schedules for the Nassau-class battleships and Blücher-class battlecruisers, and Oscar described their expected service dates.
• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz and Oscar compared Germany’s planned Capital Ships with Britain’s upcoming dreadnoughts and discussed Germany’s limits in competing with the Royal Navy.
• Moltke the Younger suggested that Germany go to war with Britain next year, but Oscar and Wilhelm II said Germany was not ready and needed to keep building its strength.
• After touring ships under construction and having lunch, Oscar brought the guests to the shipyard conference room to present the next generation of Capital Ships, especially the Moltke-class battlecruisers.

Oscar presented a new battlecruiser design as Germany prepared to keep pace with Britain’s expanding navy. He recommended naming the class Moltke, surprising the hostile Moltke the Younger.

• Oscar warned that Britain’s planned St. Vincent-class battleships and Indefatigable-class battlecruisers could leave Germany outnumbered at sea.
• Moltke the Younger dismissed the threat, but Oscar and Tirpitz argued that Britain’s shipbuilding capacity and work on larger guns demanded early preparations.
• Oscar told Wilhelm II that Germany needed more powerful battlecruisers to match Britain and threaten its sea transport routes, and Tirpitz supported the plan.
• Oscar presented a 29,000-ton battlecruiser design armed with 343mm guns and recommended naming the class Moltke in honor of Marshal Moltke.
• Moltke the Younger was stunned by Oscar’s unexpected proposal to honor his uncle.

Wilhelm II approved the Moltke-class Battlecruisers after Oscar defended their high cost as necessary to strengthen the German Navy. Oscar also presented an improved Helgoland-class Battleship, which Wilhelm II approved and named the Kaiser-class.

• Wilhelm II praised Oscar’s Moltke-class Battlecruiser design, and Count von Wollen raised concerns about its estimated cost of sixty million Marks per ship.
• Oscar argued that the German Navy needed powerful ships to compete with Britain, and Wilhelm II approved construction of the Moltke-class Battlecruisers.
• Wilhelm II named the other two planned battlecruisers Goeben and Seydlitz.
• Oscar presented an improved Helgoland-class Battleship design with 343mm guns and stronger armor.
• Wilhelm II approved construction of the new Battleship class and named it the Kaiser-class.

Wilhelm II approved names for the four remaining Kaiser-class battleships, and Oscar proposed that German Shipyard build only the lead ships of the two new classes. The other shipyards were left to share the remaining contracts, and the commissioning ceremony for Nassau ended on a note of general satisfaction.

• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz asked Wilhelm II to name the four remaining Kaiser-class battleships, and Wilhelm II named Frederick the Great, Catherine, King Albert, and Regent Leopold.
• Count von Wollen asked which shipyards would build the eight ships planned for the Moltke and Kaiser classes.
• Oscar proposed that German Shipyard build Moltke and Kaiser while the Navy assigned the remaining six ships to other shipyards.
• Wilhelm II approved Oscar's proposal, and Count von Wollen and Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz welcomed the decision.
• The commissioning ceremony for the Nassau battleship ended with both hosts and guests satisfied.

On the train to Berlin, Oscar warned Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz that Britain’s shipbuilding strength meant Germany had to press its naval advantage and develop larger guns. He revealed that he had founded the German Arms Company to improve the Imperial Army’s individual and squad weapons, despite likely opposition from established manufacturers.

• Grand Admiral Count Tirpitz praised Oscar’s successful warship designs, and Oscar cautioned him not to underestimate Britain’s naval strength.
• Oscar reminded Tirpitz that Britain could rapidly build powerful Battleships and urged Germany to support Krupp Company’s development of 381mm guns.
• Tirpitz agreed that Germany had only one chance to challenge British naval dominance, and Oscar said Germany had to seize it.
• Oscar told Tirpitz that he had registered the German Arms Company to manufacture individual weapons and strengthen the Imperial Army’s firepower.
• Tirpitz warned that Mauser Company, Rheinmetall Company, and Krupp Company might resist the new competitor, and suggested Oscar seek the Emperor’s advice.

Oscar sought Wilhelm II’s advice about launching a German Arms Company to challenge the small-arms market, and Wilhelm recommended joining forces with Krupp Company. Oscar returned to Berlin and arranged to meet the Krupps, who took his visit seriously now that he was Crown Prince.

• Oscar told Wilhelm II about his plan to establish the German Arms Company and enter the small-arms field.
• Wilhelm II warned Oscar that Mauser Company and Rheinmetall Company would resist a challenge to their interests.
• Wilhelm II advised Oscar to partner with Krupp Company, which wanted to enter the small-arms market and could withstand rival pressure.
• Oscar agreed that joining forces with Krupp Company could help break the small-arms monopoly.
• After returning to Berlin, Oscar had Karl contact Krupp Company to arrange a visit with the Krupps.
• Gustav Krupp and Bertha Krupp prepared to receive Oscar with great seriousness because he was now the acting Crown Prince.

Oscar met with Gustav Krupp and Bertha Krupp to discuss the Navy’s demand for new battleship guns. Krupp assured him the 343mm guns would be ready in time, while Oscar insisted that research begin on 380mm guns to keep pace with Britain.

• Gustav Krupp and Bertha Krupp welcomed Oscar to Krupp Company.
• Oscar praised Krupp’s 50-caliber 305mm naval gun and acknowledged the company’s support for the Navy.
• Oscar told the Krupps that eight new battleships and battlecruisers would require twenty-four triple-mounted 343mm guns, and he asked Krupp to accelerate their development and production.
• Gustav Krupp said Krupp Company had completed more than half the research on the 50-caliber 343mm gun and expected to finish development before the end of 1908.
• Oscar demanded that Krupp begin researching 380mm guns, arguing that Germany could not fall behind Britain’s naval gun development.

Oscar persuaded Krupp Company to develop the 380mm Main Gun and proposed that it invest in the German Arms Manufacturing Company, which planned to produce light weapons. Gustav Krupp agreed to support both initiatives, leaving the two companies poised to form a partnership.

• Gustav Krupp agreed to begin developing the 380mm Main Gun despite the cost and long research timeline.
• Oscar explained that powerful German battleships would help Germany defeat Britain and leave France isolated in a future war.
• Oscar told Gustav Krupp and Berta Krupp that the German Industrial Group had established a company to manufacture light weapons.
• Oscar proposed that Krupp Company take a stake in German Arms Company and jointly own it with his group.
• Gustav Krupp asked how Krupp Company could support the venture.

Oscar and Gustav Krupp reached an agreement to form the German Arms Company, with Oscar retaining control and Krupp Company contributing technology and capital. They planned to use Krupp’s support to confront Mauser Company and Rheinmetall Company’s likely resistance to a new competitor in light weapons.

• Oscar offered Krupp Company a stake in the German Arms Company in exchange for its technology and support.
• Gustav Krupp proposed an equal share, but Oscar refused to give up control of the company.
• Gustav Krupp agreed that Krupp Company would provide technology and 30 million marks for a 40 percent stake, leaving Oscar with 60 percent.
• Oscar warned that Mauser Company and Rheinmetall Company would resist the new company’s entry into light weapons, and Gustav Krupp agreed that Krupp Company would help withstand their counterattack.

Oscar showed Gustav Krupp designs for new infantry weapons and explained how they would strengthen German squad and platoon firepower. Gustav became convinced that the designs could win German Arms Company major Army contracts.

• Gustav Krupp asked how German Arms Company would compete with Mauser Company and Rheinmetall Company in the small-arms market.
• Oscar presented a light machine gun design and argued that every infantry squad needed one.
• Oscar showed Gustav a lighter, more powerful General Purpose Machine Gun that could replace the MG08.
• Oscar presented designs for a Semi-Automatic Rifle, a Sniper Rifle, Grenade Launchers, and 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm mortars.
• Gustav admired Oscar's designs and grew confident that German Arms Company would secure major orders.

Oscar urged Gustav Krupp to develop light weapons without compromising their performance or delaying naval gun development. He warned him that France’s M1897 75mm field gun could fire fifteen rounds per minute and explained how its recoil system enabled its exceptional rate of fire.

• Gustav Krupp agreed that Krupp Company could develop Oscar’s light-weapon designs within a year, and Oscar stressed that reliability and performance could not be sacrificed.
• Oscar reminded Gustav Krupp that naval gun development had to remain Krupp Company’s priority, and Gustav promised to assign additional staff to the light weapons.
• Oscar asked Gustav about France’s M1897 75mm field gun and warned that its high rate of fire had caused heavy German casualties in future wars.
• Gustav doubted Oscar’s claim that the French gun could fire fifteen rounds per minute, then reacted with shock when Oscar confirmed it.
• Oscar explained that the French gun’s recoil mechanism used hydraulic oil and compressed air to return the barrel quickly, enabling its rapid fire.