The Imperial German Navy refers to the "Imperial Navy" (German: Kaiserliche Marine) – the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded the Navy, and enlarged its mission. The key leader was Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930), who greatly expanded the size and quality of the Navy, while adopting the sea power theories of American strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. The result was a naval arms race with Britain as the German navy grew to become one of the greatest maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy. The German surface navy proved ineffective during World War I; its only major engagement, the Battle of Jutland, was indecisive. However, the submarine fleet was greatly expanded and posed a major threat to the British supply system. The Imperial Navy was largely destroyed at Scapa Flow in 1919 by its own officers, after Germany's defeat.
All ships of the Imperial Navy were designated SMS, for Seiner Majestät Schiff (His Majesty's Ship).
Read more about Imperial German Navy: Achievements, 1871 To 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm I, 1888 To 1897, Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1897 To 1906 Tirpitz and The Navy Bills, 1906 To 1908, The Dreadnought and Innovation: First Novelle, 1908 To 1912, Second Novelle, 1912 To 1914, Third Novelle, World War I, Marines, Naval Aviation, Post War, Ranks and Rates of The Imperial Navy (English Translation)
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“Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”
—Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus, 44:14.
The line “their name liveth for evermore” was chosen by Rudyard Kipling on behalf of the Imperial War Graves Commission as an epitaph to be used in Commonwealth War Cemeteries. Kipling had himself lost a son in the fighting.
“Germany has reduced savagery to a science, and this great war for the victorious peace of justice must go on until the German cancer is cut clean out of the world body.”
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)
“People run away from the name subsidy. It is a subsidy. I am not afraid to call it so. It is paid for the purpose of giving a merchant marine to the whole country so that the trade of the whole country will be benefitted thereby, and the men running the ships will of course make a reasonable profit.... Unless we have a merchant marine, our navy if called upon for offensive or defensive work is going to be most defective.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)