Caprivi
When I began my reign, General von Caprivi was Chief of the Admiralty.
He was the last general to hold this post. I at once took energetically
in hand the development and reform--in fact, one may say the foundation
anew--of the Imperial German Navy, based on my preliminary studies in
England and at home. That was not to the liking of the General, who was
able, but rather self-willed, and not entirely devoid of pride.
Unquestionably he had rendered valuable services in mobilization,
improvement of the officer corps, and the improvement and development
of the torpedo-boat organization. On the other hand, the building of
ships and the replacement of worn-out material were in a deplorable
state, to the detriment of the fleet and to the dissatisfaction of
the shipbuilding industry, which was growing and looking about for
employment.
Being an old Prussian general, Caprivi's way of thinking was that of
his day--that of his comrades of 1864, 1865, 1870, 1871--in his eyes,
the army had always done everything and would continue to do so in
the future; therefore, no great demands for money to be devoted to the
navy should be imposed upon the country, since, should this be done,
there was danger that the sums destined to the army might be decreased
and its development thereby hampered. This idea, from which he was
not to be dissuaded, is false. The amounts granted did not flow into
a reservoir from which they might be directed, by the mere turning of
a valve, now into army, now into navy, channels. Whenever Caprivi was
unwilling to demand anything for naval construction, in order, by so
doing, to turn more money toward the army, things did not happen as he
foresaw. By his action the army received not one penny more, but merely
whatever the Minister of War asked for and received in accordance with
his budget.
There was need of creating a Secretaryship of State for the Navy which,
entirely independent of the Ministry of War, should have as its duty
to demand and obtain for the navy as much as was required for the
protection of our commerce and colonies. And that is what came to pass
later on.
Caprivi soon came to me with the request that I relieve him from
his post. He stated that he was not satisfied with it in itself;
that, moreover, I had all sorts of plans for the future affecting
the navy which he considered impossible of realization, in the first
place, because there existed no means of replacement for the officer
corps--at that time the yearly influx of cadets was between sixty and
eighty--and a large navy without a large officer corps was unthinkable.
In addition to this, he informed me, he had soon seen in the course of
the inspection tours of His Majesty that the Emperor knew more about
naval matters than he, the General, which placed him in an impossible
situation in relation to his subordinates.
In view of these circumstances, I parted with him, placing him in
command of an army corps. Following the motto, "The navy for the
seamen!" I chose, for the first time, an admiral as its chief, a step
which was received in maritime circles with great joy. The man chosen
was Admiral Count Monts.
BISMARCK'S SUCCESSOR
When I was soon afterward confronted with the rather unexpected
retirement of Prince Bismarck, I found the choice of his successor
a difficult one. Whoever it might be was sure to have a hard task,
without any prospect of appreciation for what he might achieve; he
would be looked upon as the usurper of a post to which he was not
entitled, and which he was not qualified to fill. Criticism, criticism,
nothing but criticism--that was sure to be the daily bread upon which
the new Chancellor must reckon; and he was also certain of becoming
the target for the hostility of all those who favored Prince Bismarck
as well as with that of the many who previously could not do enough in
opposition to him. There was bound to be a strong current of enmity
toward the new Chancellor, in which the old Prince himself would not
be the least serious factor.
After taking all this into consideration, it was decided to choose a
man belonging to Prince Bismarck's generation, who had held a leading
position in the wars and had already filled a Government position under
him. Hence Caprivi was chosen. His age was a guarantee that he would be
a careful and calm adviser for the "orphaned" young Emperor.
Very soon the question arose of the extension of the reinsurance treaty
with Russia. Caprivi declared that, out of consideration for Austria,
he was unable to renew it, since the threat against Austria contained
therein, when it became known in Vienna--as it almost unavoidably
would--was such as to lead to very disagreeable consequences. For
this reason the treaty lapsed. To my way of thinking, it had already
lost its main value from the fact that the Russians no longer stood
whole-heartedly behind it. I was confirmed in this view by a memorial
written by Count Berchem, Under Secretary of State, who had worked with
Prince Bismarck.
The Agrarian Conservatives opposed Caprivi as a man without landed
property and a violent fight raged around the commercial treaties.
These difficulties were greatly enhanced because Prince Bismarck,
ignoring his former maxims, took part in the fight against his
successor with all his characteristic energy. Thus arose the
opposition of the Conservatives against the Government and the
Crown, and the Prince in person sowed the seed from which later
grew the "misunderstood Bismarck" and that "Reichsverdrossenheit"
(unfriendliness to the Empire) so often taken up in the newspapers. The
"misunderstood Bismarck" created permanent opposition throughout my
reign against my suggestions and aims by means of quotations, speeches,
and writings, as well as by passive resistance and thoughtless
criticism. Everything that was done was painted in black colors,
made ridiculous, and criticized from top to bottom, by a press that
placed itself quite willingly at the disposal of the Prince and often
out-Bismarcked Bismarck in its behavior.
This phenomenon became most apparent at the time of the acquisition of
Heligoland. This island, lying close in front of the great waterways
leading to the principal Hanseatic commercial ports, was, in the
hands of the British, a constant menace to Hamburg and Bremen and
rendered impossible any project for building up a navy. Owing to this,
I had firmly resolved to win back this formerly German island to its
fatherland.
THE DEAL FOR HELIGOLAND
The way to cause England to give up the red rock of Heligoland was
found in the colonial domain. Lord Salisbury proved inclined to
exchange the "barren rock" for Zanzibar and Witu in East Africa.
From commercial sources and the reports of the commanders of German
cruisers and gunboats which were stationed there and cruised along
the coast of the recently acquired German East African colonies, I
knew that, as soon as Togo, Dar-es-Salaam, etc., rose to prosperity,
the importance of Zanzibar on the coast of Africa as the principal
port of transshipment would be a thing of the past, since, as soon as
the above-mentioned harbors were made deep enough and provided with
sufficient cargo-loading equipment for trading steamers, there would no
longer be any need of ferrying goods coming from the interior in dhows
to Zanzibar, in order to have them again loaded on vessels there, since
they could be loaded direct at the new harbors along the coast.
Therefore, I was convinced that we had, first, an acceptable asset
for swapping purposes, and, secondly, a good opportunity to avoid
colonial friction with England and come to a friendly understanding
with her. Caprivi agreed, the negotiations were concluded, and one
evening, shortly before dinner, I was able to tell the Empress and a
few intimates the exceedingly joyful tidings that Heligoland had become
German.
A first and very important extension of the Empire had been
achieved--without bloodshed--the first condition for the upbuilding of
the fleet was fulfilled, something which the natives of the Hanseatic
towns and the rest of the North Germans had wished for centuries had
come to pass. In silence, an important event had occurred.
Had Heligoland been acquired in the Chancellorship of Prince Bismarck,
it would probably have been valued very highly. Having happened under
Caprivi, it loosed a lot of criticism. It was merely Caprivi, the
usurper, who had had the audacity to sit in the Prince's chair, and
the "irresponsible," "ungrateful," "impulsive" young master who had
done such a thing! Had Bismarck only wished, he could have had the old
rock any day, but he never would have been so unskillful as to give up
to the English for it the very promising African possessions, and he
never would have allowed himself to be thus worsted. That was the sort
of thing heard almost everywhere. The newspapers of the Prince joined
loudly in this sort of criticism, to the great grief of the people of
the Hanseatic cities.
Curious indeed were the criticisms occasioned by the swapping of
Zanzibar and Witu, which appeared in the Bismarckian press, although
previously, when I worked under him, these newspapers had always
explained that he had not much belief in the value of colonies in
themselves and looked upon them merely as objects to be exchanged,
possibly, for something else, in deals with the British. His successor
acted according to these ideas in the Heligoland question, and was
most violently criticized and attacked. Not until the World War was
on did I see articles in the German press which unreservedly admitted
the acquisition of Heligoland to be an act of far-sighted politics
and added reflections as to what would doubtless have happened if
Heligoland had not become German.
The German nation has every reason to be thankful to Count Caprivi
for this achievement, since thereby the building of its navy and its
victory at the Skagerrak were made possible. As for the German navy, it
long ago acknowledged this.
The school law of Count Zedlitz aroused violent new conflicts. When
they led to Zedlitz's retirement, the cry arose among his adherents:
"If the Count goes, so must the Chancellor."
Caprivi left his post, in a calm, dignified manner. He tried honestly,
within the measure of his powers and abilities, to continue the
traditions of Prince Bismarck. In this he found little support among
the political parties, and, for this reason, all the more criticism and
hostility in the public and among those who, had they acted for the
right and the interests of the state, should have stood by him. Without
one word of apology, Caprivi, in noble silence, lived all the rest of
his life in almost solitary retirement.