Figure 1.--The grandchildren of Kaiser Wilhem were often outfitted in sailor suits. These boys are the sons of the Crown Prince (Wilhelm, Louis Ferdinand, and Hubertus) aboard the 'SMY Hohenzollern'. This attachment to the Navy would be a major contributing factor to Germany's defeat in World War I. Wilhelm would be killed in France during World War II.

The Imperial German attitude toward the navy changed with the accession of the first kaiser's son, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888). The new Kaiser was the son of British Princess Royal Victoria. His mother liked to dress him in sailor suits. He was often taken to visit his Grandmother, Queen Victoria and on several occasions the dutifully impressed little boy witnessed Royal Navy vessels and fleet reviews. A seemingly endless line of Royal Navy vessels passed in review. The young Crown Prince from a very early age decided that he wanted a powerful fleet of his own to reflect his imperial status. And as kaiser and father, the young princes and princesses wore sailor suits. The grandchildren were even more likely to wear sailor suits. It was a clear reflection of what the kaiser thought about naval power. And Admiral Tirpitz provided the rationale for Germany with only a small northern coast (mostly a virtually inland Baltic Sea coast) having a powerful and very expensive navy. Wilhelm had dreams of creating a modern navy in the same way his grandfather had created the German Army. And as part of that same impulse was a great overseas empire for Germany. Wilhelm appointed himself grand admiral of the navy. Wilhelm as kaiser of a parliamentary state was not an absolute monarch, like the Tsar, but more powerful than the British king. He could not build huge navy in a vacuum. Massive expenditures on the navy at the expense of the army would have met opposition and it should not be thought that he wanted to neglect the army. But he did want a powerful navy. He proceeded slowly, building a navy as part of a more generalized military build up. One of his first acts as kaiser was to appoint Vice-Admiral Alexander von Monts to head the Admiralty. Wilhelm's connection with the navy like his decision not to renew the treaty relationship would prove to be two of the greatest mistakes by a German leader. Ironically, in the end it would be the German Navy, not the Army that would mutiny against Wilhelm.

Created: 1:51 AM 5/26/2014
Last updated: 1:51 AM 5/26/2014