The build up to World War One The Naval Race

Britain and Germany The age of the Dreadnought The Naval Race 1906-1914 Britain and Germany The age of the Dreadnought

The Naval Race 1906-1914 Britain needed a powerful navy to protect her large overseas Empire. In 1900, Britain had the largest navy in the world. Germany began to build up her own navy in 1898 and this made Britain believe they were trying to challenge her and her colonies. These fears were partly responsible for Britain entering into agreements with France and Russia. The German navy became a real threat to Britain after 1906 when both sides began building Dreadnoughts, a new battleship that could easily destroy any of the older type of battleships. The race was on to build the most dreadnoughts.

The Naval Race 1906-1914 The race reached its peak in 1909. The Germans refused to agree on the number of dreadnoughts they would build. The British government only planned to build four but due to public pressure the government gave way and increased spending to maintain Britain’s naval superiority over Germany. By 1914, Britain had won the naval race so this cannot be seen as a main reason for Britain going to war.

The build-up of armies 1900-1914