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Dreadnought (book)
Encyclopedia
Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the Coming of the Great War (1991) is a book by Robert K. Massie
on the growing European tension in decades before World War I
, especially the naval arms race between Britain and Germany
. It was followed by a sequel on the war, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea
.
and the crowning of Kaiser William II
. With the stage set, Massie describes the series of people and events that contributed to the outbreak of war, including Alfred von Tirpitz
and his plan
for German naval superiority, the Kruger Telegram
, Boer War
and Boxer Rebellion
.
and Admiral of the Fleet Jackie Fisher that influenced its design and construction.
Robert K. Massie
Robert Kinloch Massie III is an American historian, author, Pulitzer Prize recipient. He has devoted much of his career to studying the House of Romanov, Russia's royal family from 1613-1917.-Biography:...
on the growing European tension in decades before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, especially the naval arms race between Britain and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It was followed by a sequel on the war, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea
Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea
Castles of Steel is a work of non-fiction by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert K. Massie. It details the naval actions of the First World War with an emphasis on those of the United Kingdom and Imperial Germany. This book continues the examination of the naval arms race between these two powers in...
.
Summary
Massie begins with the birth of Queen Victoria and follows the chronology of the royal families of Europe, culminating in the unification of Germany by BismarckOtto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
and the crowning of Kaiser William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
. With the stage set, Massie describes the series of people and events that contributed to the outbreak of war, including Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the German Empire was formed in 1871...
and his plan
Tirpitz Plan
The Tirpitz Plan, formulated by Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, was Germany's pre-World War I strategic aim to build the second largest navy in the world after the United Kingdom, thereby advancing itself as a world power...
for German naval superiority, the Kruger Telegram
Kruger telegram
The Kruger telegram was a message sent by Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II to Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic, on 3 January 1896. The Kaiser congratulated the president on repelling the Jameson Raid, a sortie by 600 British irregulars from Cape Colony into the...
, Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
and Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
.
HMS Dreadnought
While largely concerned with political and historic matters, a substantial chapter documents the design innovations incorporated into the namesake warship and the interactions between Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Admiral of the Fleet Jackie Fisher that influenced its design and construction.
Table of Contents
- Part I: The German Challenge
- Part II: The End of Splendid Isolation
- Part III: The Navy
- Part IV: Britain and Germany: Politics and Growing Tension, 1906-1910
- Part V: The Road to Armageddon