Dreadnought construction favoured powers able to support the new type with industry and money. The United States could expand alongside its growing industrial base. Germany had to divide resources between the fleet and a politically dominant army, which made a ship-for-ship contest with Britain far harder to sustain. An arms race began when rivalry turned into ships laid down in competition, so rhetoric alone did not create the race.
Chapter · 12:00-14:37
An industrially unequal battleship race
Dreadnoughts offered the United States a chance to expand with its industry, but Germany could not simply reset competition with Britain while also funding its army.