Tirpitz's 1896 memorandum asked the kaiser for nineteen battleships arranged in two squadrons, a flagship, and reserves. In this reading, a force of that scale only made strategic sense if Germany designated Britain as its enemy. That choice broke with a long Anglo-Prussian pattern in which British sea power and finance complemented Prussian or German land strength against common enemies. German officials who valued the older relationship had good reason to ask why a costly fleet should antagonize a state that had often been neutral, friendly, or allied.
Chapter · 1:10:37-1:13:43
Tirpitz's 1896 memorandum makes Britain the naval enemy
The proposed nineteen-battleship fleet required Germany to abandon a useful Anglo-Prussian tradition and define Britain as the opponent it must challenge.