“It was vital for Germany, Admiral Tirpitz urged Kaiser Wilhelm, to build a big navy, so that it would be one of the “four World Powers: Russia, England, America and Germany.”10 France, too, must be up there, warned a Monsieur Darcy, for “those who do not advance, go backwards and who goes back goes under.”

“It was vital for Germany, Admiral Tirpitz urged Kaiser Wilhelm, to build a big navy, so that it would be one of the “four World Powers: Russia, England, America and Germany.”10 France, too, must be up there, warned a Monsieur Darcy, for “those who do not advance, go backwards and who goes back goes under.”

— Paul Kennedy