Chapter 15 The need for shipping and rail infrastructure

After 1873, the national industrial and financial policy of the United Kingdom hindered technological progress, while the opposite happened in Germany.By 1900, the differences in the development paths of the two countries became increasingly apparent. Before 1914, the increasing friction between Germany and Great Britain was mainly focused on two particular aspects of the rapid and comprehensive development of the German economy. The first and most important aspect was the rapid rise of Germany as a modern shipping power. It posed a deadly threat to Britain, which had long ruled the seas. Germany would never be able to dominate her own economic affairs without the control of her own modern commercial fleet, accompanied by an excellent naval escort.Britain still rules the world's seas and does everything possible to maintain its dominance.This is at the heart of Britain's geopolitical strategy.In this context, a growing number of Germans believed that the economic life of the country would always be at the mercy of foreign shipping powers, who would set the basic terms of international trade.

In 1870, the commercial fleet of the German Empire was only 640,000 tons, ranking fifth in the world at that time, behind the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Norway.But by 1914, Germany's fleet had quickly jumped to second place in the world, trailing only Great Britain. In 1870 German export goods were limited by the shipping prices and capacity of other countries, first of all Great Britain.By 1914, the pattern had changed radically.As early as 1901, Germany had 52,000 ships of various kinds, with a total tonnage of 9 million tons, shuttling between ports around the world.By 1909, the number of ships had increased to 65,000, with a deadweight gross tonnage of 13 million tons.During this period, 70% of German trade was carried out by sea.The control of the terms of trade is of great significance to the economic security of Germany.However, those in the UK's financial and shipping industries did not welcome this.

At the same time, German steel and engineering technology developed rapidly, and the results were directly applied to the construction of modern merchant ships.Steam power replaced the sailing ships of the past, and steel hulls replaced the iron and wooden hulls of the past.These improvements in equipment increased the size of merchant ships and effectively increased the efficiency of German shipping. In 1891, Germany already had three steam-powered ships with a deadweight tonnage of more than 7,000 tons.By 1914, Germany already had five steam-powered ships with a deadweight tonnage of more than 20,000 tons, nine ships with a deadweight tonnage of between 15,000 and 20,000 tons, and 66 ships with a deadweight tonnage between 7,000 and 10,000 tons.

During this time, German shipping developed at an astonishing pace.By 1914, the Hamburg-American Company and the North German Lloyd Company owned 40% of all German merchant ships.Orderly organization, economies of scale, and a focus on building the most efficient and modern ships were the secrets to the astonishing growth of German shipping during this period. A French observer at the time, commenting on the extraordinary success of the German shipping industry, wrote: It is this concentration that makes possible the accelerated amortization of capital, the demolition of ships that have become obsolete, and the constant innovation of transport machinery.In German merchant shipping you won't find ships that are 30 or 40 years old.By standardizing production—more precisely, German industries such as metallurgy and electronics—guaranteeing the transportation required by German firms, shipping by sea became frequent and regular.For the Germans, the creation of navigation routes did not follow trade, it preceded trade, and in the process of leading, it was naturally formed gradually.

With the eventual annexation of Hamburg to the German Empire in 1888, Hamburg and later the Port of Bremen-Bremerhaven became the center of the most modern and efficient port facilities in Europe, driving the railway freight transported to the world market from the whole of Central Europe to the north.Through the formulation of national infrastructure construction policies, the development of the most price-competitive transportation and communication system has been encouraged.In the 15 years leading up to 1914, Germany expanded its shipping business to the whole world, including the traditional colonial markets monopolized by Britain, as well as other "spheres of influence" such as Egypt and even North and South America. In 1897, almost a year after the Reichstag passed laws restricting financial speculation, Admiral von Trpitz announced the first German shipbuilding program, which was approved by the Reichstag in 1898, followed by the Legislation again in 1900 announced the construction of twice as many naval ships.

In 1906, the British launched a newly designed all-heavy artillery battleship "Dreadnought", which was faster and more powerful than any warship at the time.In response, Germany passed a law in 1906 stipulating that the German naval fleet must be renewed every 20 years, and those who knew about this law were limited to a small circle.To the shock of Britain, by 1909, Germany had launched the Nassau class of four battleships, which was more advanced than the battleship "Dreadnought".These battleships were soon replaced by the more advanced "Super Dreadnought" battleships by British and German shipbuilding specialists.The United Kingdom never expected that Germany could develop such a modern naval fleet in such a short period of time with its own strength. In a 1951 lecture at Oxford University reviewing the background to the 1914 World War, Sir Llewellyn Woodward put it succinctly: "Germany, like other great powers, was as easy as it was to create for itself what it wanted. The Grand Fleet. The problem is: one out of expediency, and two out of practicality. The German fleet is definitely a challenge to Britain's dominance as a maritime power."

Around 1910, it became increasingly clear to the British that decisive measures were needed to counter Germany's formidable economic rise.As we shall see, for the first time, oil emerged on the international stage as the most important geopolitical factor in warfare.