Germany's Sea Strength—Great Britain's Immense War Fleet—Immense Fighting Craft—The United States' New Battle Cruisers—The Fastest and Biggest Ocean Fighting Ships—The Picturesque Marines: the Soldiers of the Sea.
Just as Germany at the outset of the war had the most efficient and, broadly speaking, the greatest army in the world, so England had the greatest navy in the world. As a matter of fact, Great Britain's domination of the seas was very largely responsible for the development of the super-submarine by Germany, and the putting into effect of the submarine warfare which proved so disastrous to the Allies. This for the reason that Germany, having sought for means to offset Great Britain's power and control of the seas, turned to the underseas craft.
Up to the accession of Emperor William II—the Kaiser—Germany's navy was little more than a joke. In 1848 the National Parliament voted six million thalers for the creation of a fleet, and some boats were constructed. But the attempts to weld Germany, then little more than a federation, into a nation having failed, the fleet was put up at auction, and actually sold in 1852. Prussia, a separate state, had started a fleet of her own and purchased the German boats.
This fleet, just before the American Civil War, consisted of four cruisers, carrying 28 cannon, and one cruiser having 17 cannon, besides which there were 21 "cannon boats," carrying two and three cannons each. The Prussian fleet merged into the North German Confederation in 1867, and in turn became part of the fleet of the new German Empire in 1871.
In the war with France the German fleet played no part. There were one or two clashes between French and German small boats, but that was all. Even the successful outcome of the war did not inspire Germany to build up a navy. Plans for the greater navy were first outlined about 1882, but for a period of seven years not a battleship was built, concentration being placed upon the torpedo boat. The idea of developing the torpedo boat fleet belong to the present Grand Admiral von Tirpitz, then a young officer. The fleet became the best in the world, but its usefulness was soon checked by the new inventions, searchlights, gatling guns, etc.
Germany's fleet legislation of 1898 for the first time looked ahead and established rules for future building. The Spanish-American and the Boer wars disquieted Germany, and about 1900 the fleet was doubled by legislation. In 1906 the campaign of submarines, torpedo boats and greater battleships began. Part of the program required that 12 torpedo boats be built each year. Additional legislation for the construction of cruisers and battleships was effected in 1908, and in 1912, until at the beginning of the war, Germany had 38 ships of the line, 14 armored cruisers, 38 protected cruisers, 224 torpedo boats and 30 submarines. There were no torpedo-boat destroyers, the small cruisers taking their places. The naval organization contained 73,000 officers and men. The largest boats are the dreadnoughts, which are divided into several classes. One of the last of these built by Germany was the Derfflinger, which had a displacement of 28,000 tons.
The personnel of the German navy prior to the war was 79,197 officers and men.
THE BRITISH NAVY.
Because of the fact that the territory of Great Britain is scattered over the face of the globe and that it is necessary to use the highways of the sea for reaching her various possessions, the navy of that country is undoubtedly the greatest collection of fighting ships ever gathered together under one flag.
In order to take care of her population of 1,625,000,000 she has gathered together a navy consisting of 60 modern battleships, 9 battle cruisers, 34 armored cruisers, 17 heavy protected cruisers, 70 light cruisers, 232 destroyers, 59 torpedo boats of the latest type, 75 submarines, together with 50 sea-going auxiliaries of the fleet, which are used as mother ships to destroyers, mine-layers, distilling ships, oil ships, repair and hospital ships, with 145,000 officers and men.