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Conflict and Change
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The Naval Arms Race
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Towards war in Europe
Towards war in Europe
The Government appointed Winston Churchill the First Lord of the Admiralty, the politician in charge of Admiralty business in Parliament, in 1911.
As Churchill was a staunch army supporter and a critic of the increasing naval budgets, it was hoped that he would be able to curb some of the spending in the Naval Estimates.
In 1911 Churchill proposed a ‘Naval Holiday’ where he promised that the navy would not build any ships for a whole year. However this would be contingent on Germany also not building any more warships. If they did then Britain would build four.
The Admiralty decided to revise its 'two power standard' of having a fleet as large as the two next largest naval powers combined down to ‘Germany plus 60%’ in dreadnoughts. This was a ratio of 5:3 rather than 3:2 as suggested in 1908, but still retained the standard in cruisers and lesser ships for the defence of the empire.
Winston Churchill c.1915 when First Lord of the Admiralty. (RNM)
When Germany announced an addition of three new battleships to its proposed figures resulting from the Naval Laws and its amendments, the Admiralty announced plans to build five new ships in the subsequent year and four in each of the four following years.
Rather than Churchill becoming more stringent with the naval budget, the First Lord of the Admiralty raised the Naval Estimates to their biggest-ever figure. Churchill also raised the first naval staff in 1912, which saw the return of Baron ‘Jackie’ Fisher in an advisory capacity.
Events began to move fast and by 1912 the British outnumbered the German Navy in home waters by a total of 20 extra capital ships.
Postcard - Home Fleet in Solent HMS Dreadnought. Dreadnought was the flagship of the Home Fleet from 1907 - 1912. (RNM)
In 1913 the Anglo-French agreement provided Britain with more warships in home waters as France took over the security of the Mediterranean and Britain moved to stations in the Channel and French Atlantic coasts.
By the outbreak of what became World War One in 1914, Britain possessed 23 dreadnoughts and eight battlecruisers in commission.
In comparison, Germany had 13 dreadnoughts and five battlecruisers at sea. France had four battleships, while Italy had three and Austria two with Russia possessing just one dreadnought.
A Record Mobilisation. The Fleet Assembled at Spithead For The King's Inspection. July 1914. (RNM)
