Dreadnought

For a number of years, the Kaiser and his ministers, certain that the most effective way of turning a neighbor into a friend was to frighten him, cherished the belief that they could both build a powerful fleet and draw Great Britain into an alliance. The Kaiser believed—and Tirpitz said he believed—that once Britain saw and accepted the formidable nature of the German Fleet, Britain would respect Germany and offer friendship—a friendship in which Germany would become the dominant partner. This proved a catastrophic misunderstanding of the psychology of Britons, to whom command of the sea remained a greater necessity than any Continental alliance.

s battalions across the twenty miles of water so that they could seize London and dictate peace. During their passage, the hundreds of fla