Germany entered the First World War with a strong cruiser record. The ships of the 1890s and the pre-war period were capable designs that were well crewed and well led. German finance and naval infrastructure could not match the Royal Navy, so this quality was achieved without comparable institutional depth. The contrast makes the later Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine failure more striking: an established cruiser tradition existed, but interwar policy did not turn it into a coherent force.
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The capable cruiser tradition Germany failed to inherit
Imperial Germany produced capable cruisers and cruiser officers despite having less money and naval infrastructure than Britain.