The Rise of the Imperial German Navy - Coast Defense to Global Offense

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@joshthomasmoorenew]

What actions were the Prussian Navy doing during the Napoleonic era?

[@WarrantOfficerWill22]

Had the Netherlands never lost its ties to the Holy Roman Empire, how would that have impacted both of them during the time period this channel covers? How would the Dutch East India Trading Company have affected/been affected by the rest of the HRE? And (assuming they subsequently join the German confederation and Germany proper), how does the Dutch’s overseas and naval success affect the German navy and colonialism? Especially during this early period.

[@thehandoftheking3314]

What were any notable actions by the RNLI in the first and second world wars?

[@WindHaze10]

What kind of damage could German navy do if magically 1 Yamato class battleship (retrofitted with German own AA guns) + heafty supply of main and secondary gun ammo were to appear in their hands 1941.

[@Cbabilon675]

I've noticed that all of the eighteen hundreds german shifts were quite elegant and very pleasing to the eye. In your opinion which ones did you find most elegant?

[@kryts27]

One of the features of the new late-nineteenth German state, were admirals with larger and more elaborate moustaches 😂

[@GaldirEonai]

The later dreadnought race would pale next to the moustache arms race.

[@josephdedrick9337]

​There was a famous Japanese admiral that arguably won that race. They decided to bury the admiral and the stache separately en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagaoka_Gaishi @@GaldirEonai

[@oliversmith9200]

And what could be more excellent? The general elaboration of uniform regalia is also a historic eye popping treasure. A general's man would have to be an accomplished regalia adornment technician. Dressing might require two of such specialists to save real time, and the unquestioning cooperation of the officer. Imagine the scene. lol

[@GaldirEonai]

@@josephdedrick9337 Oh my god it's the Turn-A Gundam.

[@rostdreadnorramus4936]

Same with Russia.

[@mitchm4992]

Starting off strong with the Drachisms this week, "the lack of existence of Germany" and "filled in and populated by industrious people in lederhosen" made me pause the video to give myself time to laugh.

[@LuvLikeTruck]

Admiral Yamamoto could count the number of officers on his injured hand

[@Dohlenblick]

I nearly spilled my beer on my lederhosen...

[@SA-xf1eb]

😂

[@sillypuppy5940]

I wonder if they got their sea legs by imbibing at their beer fests.

[@stanleyrogouski]

Prussians don't wear leaderhosen.

[@EtuSunTzu]

I love Drach’s opening line about the existence of Germany. It is all too easy for people to forget the comparatively late formation of the German state.

[@bingobongo1615]

And yet it’s even more complicated… The Holy Roman Empire was called "of the German nation“ by the 16th century and it did have central institutions like the emperor but also a court for the empire. Furthermore in times of war with very few exceptions due to the wars of religion, three Silesian wars and a brief period where Bavaria wanted to be France the empire also could call on its he individual rulers to send troops for some central kinda army… If any foreign power attacked a German state they could assume that most of the empire would react and not just that small state - this prevented Germany from being picked apart outside of the French stealing Alsace and Sweden briefly ruling a couple of towns in the north east… And Germans were very aware of their cultural proximity and already Swiss was seen as different despite similar language in the North and of course the Austrian lands were German and people living there Germans even if the Habsburger Core provinces were bigger and had many other people as well. Italy for example was waaaay more fractured in culture, loyalties and nationalism came much later.

[@biglebowski5737]

@@bingobongo1615 Who cares? Boring!

[@patriciusvunkempen102]

i realy dislike it bc he can't differntiate between "german" and "germanic" and the fact that a nation usualy exists prior to its nationstate.typically anglo historiography. the english are also a germanic nation, as they formed from different germanic tribes. meanwhile the german nation was split into several states.

[@mightybluespider]

Never mind the Teutons ​@@patriciusvunkempen102

[@MilitärischeKanal-s2f]

You must be american.

[@Suballi4004]

For those of you wondering why so many fotos of German Warships show also this particular bridge (28:00). The ships are traversing the Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) and the bridge is the Levensau High Bridge near Kiel. Still exists (sans the towers and cage on top), but is to be replaced in the next years. Its a nice spot for ship spotters and probably was one 130 years ago too.

[@Zonkotron]

It is no longer open to vehicles since spring and closed to pedestrians shortly later. They have finally started :( The last proper large riveted steel work in Kiel will be replaced. Steel and graceful still, no brutalist nonsense, buin those days. Rapidly built from a small town during the height of the industrial age and German industrial superiority, graceful with the elegance of those days and not crowded like places that had already grown large in the middle ages. So much left after the war was destroyed and still is by officials afterwards. In some isolated places you can still see it. Wide, open streets planted with trees, big 4 and 5 story imperial style, art nuveau and art deco buildings. Everything laid out to be cozy, yet light filled, imposing, yet happy. It sometimes makes me almost cry. The entire city except a few medieval downtown streets was once like it. See 6:18, and it basically only got nicer from then until the 30s...

[@DrGull1888]

Aaah Schleswig, your favourite German word next to Holstein.

[@sakkra93]

"Saxe-Coburg" and "Gotha" being two other wonderfully German words.

[@Aiwendill]

let him pronounce "Konstantinopolitanischerdudelsackspfeifenmachersgesellschaff".

[@kilianortmann9979]

@@sakkra93 Drach is truly fortunate that Schmalkalden-Meiningen never got a ship named after them.

[@Arltratlo]

its different, if you are born in Schleswig-Holstein!

[@alexandermonro6768]

​@@Aiwendill I tried to get Google to translate that into English. It failed completely. My puny unaided brain thinks that it could be a ship type.

[@untruelie2640]

There was another, often overlooked aspect of the german imperial navy: It was the only true unified "german" military organisation, as it was organised (and paid for!) on the imperial/federal level. Its sailors and officers came from all regions of the Empire, even those far away from the sea. In contrast, there was no unified german army. There was the prussian army which effectively dominated everything, but also included many contingents from the smaller states, and there were the armies of Saxony and Bavaria who had managed to retain their military autonomy after 1871. This regionalism caused several problems for the german military and even contributed to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan in 1914 (with the bavarian army not retreating as planned to lure the French into a trap, because the bavarian officers didn't want to be seen as cowards while their prussian comrades/rivals won all the offensive glory). Thus, the army(ies) never captured the public imagination in quite the same way as the navy, who was the target of and profitted from waves of nationalistic favour.

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

I knew about some of the princely states retaining control of their own military formations, but the navy as the national armed organisation had never actually ocurred to me. Thsnk you for the insight.

[@Sturminfantrist]

Armys, Prussian/Preussen, Sachsen , Bayern and i think if i remember well Würtemberg!

[@untruelie2640]

@@Sturminfantrist Not Württemberg iirc.

[@robertthweatt1900]

IIRC, the Bavarians would have had to retreat deep into their own territory, so that the French could not easily redeploy to face the main German army advancing from Belgium, which they did. It was asking a lot for them to allow their own territory to be overrun, although only that would have given the Schliefflen Plan any real chance of success.

[@JeffEbe-te2xs]

That why the navy revolted in 1918

[@ВасилийМорозов-л7х]

16:46 Apparently the battleship/commerce raider role confusion that plagued the Kriegsmarine battleships began somewhere here.

[@GrahamCStrouse]

Using a battleship to hunt merchant ships makes about as much sense as a short-range tactical nuclear weapon. Oh, wait, we did that…

[@JeffEbe-te2xs]

Battleship or battle cursier

[@dclark142002]

​@@JeffEbe-te2xs, no such thing as a battle cruiser. Let's not get distracted by Jackie Fishers advertising campaign.

[@generaltom6850]

@@GrahamCStrouse Tactical nukes aren’t useless. In a ww3 they could be very useful as they require less infrastructure to move around and fire than say, a giant missile or a bomber plane. Plus the nukes will kill any communication, both in terms of radios and in terms of messengers. So having say brigade level units with they’re own nukes could be very useful.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@dclark142002 "Battle cruiser" isn't a universal navy thing. It is wholly dependent on the context of particular navies. So yes, a "battle cruiser" exists in the Royal Navy context but not on the Kaiserliche Marine context...

[@bernhardlangers778]

And 40,000 years into the future the empire of man still uses the same bow structure, though there is a somewhat noteworthy increase in tonnage.

[@murielcunningham8703]

Only somewhat though

[@Rybo-Senpai]

Ramming speed has also been amended tooo "FOR THE EMPEROR RAMMING SPEED" meanwhile dome Mars techpriest is binarically screeching about not getting dents in the machine.. lest the machine spirit be angered

[@Grnhrz]

Fun fact: Andy Chambers, the designer of BFG was heavily inspired by the battle of Jutland when he sat down to come up with a concept for navies and naval combat in the 41st millennium: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZrXiGuNd9KtaNkfeature=shared

[@comrade_commissar3794]

@@GrnhrzWhich is odd because Warhammer ship combat has infinitely more in common with Trafalgar than Jutland

[@williestyle35]

only somewhat related, just as the tumblehome design of the sides French pre - pre - dreadnoughts can also be seen in those structures...

[@Vtarngpb]

“You said you needed guns?” 🤑🤗😍 -Alfred Krupp

[@Wolfeson28]

"Möchte der Sir eine 14-Zoll-Kanone dazu?"

[@Melior_Traiano]

My grandfather (German WWII veteran; his father fought at the Battle of Verdun in WWI and was awarded the Iron Cross) told me a story of young Alfred von Tirpitz (later Grand Admiral of the Imperial German Fleet), which he had read. As a young boy, Tirpitz saw British fishing vessels encroaching on German fishing grounds and the local German fishermen couldn't do anything against them, because they were protected by the Royal Navy. Much like the Chinese are now doing to Japan and the Philippines in the South China Sea. Thats where Tirpitz got the conviction that Germany needed a strong navy as well.

[@SuperAlexkol]

Hey drach thx for all the great uploads .

[@eypandabear7483]

One interesting fact about the German Imperial Navy is actually in the name: like you said, the Emperor was its supreme commander. For Germany's land forces, this was different: there was technically no "Imperial German Army". The larger states of the Empire (Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg,...) each had their own armies, with the Prussian Royal Army being by far the biggest and de facto leader. Of course, the Prussian Royal Army's chief commander was the King of Prussia, who was also the Emperor.

[@AndrewGivens]

It is - and was - the same with the British armed forces: the Navy is Royal, but the Army is made up of discrete regiments, each with their own titles and affiliations, but brought under one general staff as a combined command. There is no British Royal Army. So the Germans were very much on trend there.

[@generaltom6850]

@@AndrewGivens Yeah, but the German states had direct control over their own armies. Bavaria, Wurrtemburg, Baden and more had their own royal armies. Completely separate in peacetime although they would be brought under unified command in wartime.

[@williestyle35]

​@@AndrewGivens and the reason the British Army is not "Royal" like the Navy, Artillery, Engineers, and Air Force, is that the "New Model Army" was created to side with Parliament and Lord Protector Cromwell, commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax - never to be given "Royal warrant" because they had fought against the Royalists and the Restoration of the Monarchy.

[@williamhamblen3808]

The "some way" William II was related to Queen Victoria is that he was her grandson.

[@williestyle35]

This is correct. Just as HRH Prince Philip of Edinburgh's mother was a great- granddaughter of HRH Queen Victoria (making him a great great - grandson of Queen Victoria). Phillip's mother was a rather remarkable character, I always recommend people research the history of Princess Alice of Battenberg as well as her father - (eventually name changed to) (British Admiral) Louis Alexander Mountbatten, *1st* Marquess of Milford Haven. A German "Prince" that gave up any of his inheritance in Germany to serve in the Royal Navy (becoming First Sea Lord till WWI), even marrying Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (a granddaughter of Queen Victoria). Lord Louis Mountbatten was Phillip's maternal uncle, and also became First Sea Lord (like his father, 1955 - 59) and served as the last Viceroy of India (RH The Earl Mountbatten of Burma). Queen Victoria had so many children and grandchildren that had married into nearly every other Royal house in Europe, I think she would have been quite happy how the majority turned out, and fascinated by the life of Phillip's mother Princess Alice of Battenberg.

Those times were quite good for my hometown of Emden in northern Germany. After hundreds of years of decline after the river Ems shifted its course, it was a time of new investment and the creation of a lot of jobs in shipbuilding and the new harbour.

[@camilstoenescu]

hence the name of the light cruiser SMS Emden

[@JoboGamezzz]

@@camilstoenescuwasn’t that the one that raided a ton in the Indian and pacific

[@michaeldantoni4292]

Very educational and informative. Thanks Drach.

[@sven-erikviira1872]

Fun fact - if you make four quick taps on the first second of the video, on the right hand side of the screen, you will hear an explosion.

[@douglasharley2440]

...and if you just wait 30 seconds, you will also hear the same explosion.

[@sven-erikviira1872]

@@douglasharley2440 I guess I just can not contain myself.

[@douglasharley2440]

@@sven-erikviira1872 knowing is half the battle.

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

​@@douglasharley2440 Truer words have never been spoken Sir

[@mitchm4992]

Do you see Imperial German torpedo boats?

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Nein!

[@micnorton9487]

I don't know I threw my binoculars at my repair ship when I ran out of opium laced cigarettes lol...

[@hughgordon6435]

hello Kamchaka😅

[@admiraloscar3320]

Are these “topedo boats” here right now?

[@obelic71]

@@hughgordon6435 The best Non Imperial Japanese Navy ship serving the IJN

[@mpersad]

Terrifically scripted and illustrated video. I learnt a great deal, thank you Drach!

[@50043211]

"... industrious people in lederhosen!" just waiting for your German viewers to flood the comment section and tell you that only the Bavarian's are wearing these! 😆 And Iam very impressed that you pronounce Caeser properly!

[@tobiasgoldberg8190]

Sie haben nach uns gerufen? ... 🎉

[@na3044]

Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Kommentarbereich.

[@michimatsch5862]

Sprich

[@na3044]

@@michimatsch5862 Deutsch

[@HansPottermann]

Just a random question, do you plan on doing a video about naval aviation in the future? I don't neccessarily mean aircraft carriers, more like catapult-launched planes from battleships. Not many people talk about it, and I think it would be nice for a brief explanation of how it works and what impact it had.

[@williestyle35]

A video about the use of seaborne aircraft aboard ships other than aircraft carriers would be interesting for Drachinifel to cover!

[@729060]

Fun fact, the amount of force generated by Bismarck spinning in his grave after Wilhelm II chose to take a directly antagonist approach with the British navy was enough to power all German factories for both WWI and II

[@wolfsoldner9029]

Britain was antagonistic towards Germany since its unification.

[@NicolasHaufe]

The naval Arms Race began after the british threatened to shell the entire German baltic fleet because france broke the treaty of Madrid (1880) in the First moroccan crisis

[@MilitärischeKanal-s2f]

Britain could never accept that Germany might challenge her and did all she could to destroy Germany. Prussia’s existence was tolerated only because it was seen as a second-rate power until the Austro-Prussian War.

[@malcolmtaylor518]

Excellent photographs.

[@BoisegangGaming]

11:25 Ah, yes, the average stellaris experience of leaders just dropping like flies in quick succession.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

Not to mention putting much of your output into research. 😅

[@BoisegangGaming]

@@TheEDFLegacy As someone who primarily plays xenophile materialist tech rush empires, there is no such thing as "enough research".

[@Wolfeson28]

As any EUIV player would know, the pain of seeing your high-stat monarchs suddenly drop in quick succession, leaving you stuck with a 20-year-old 1/1/2 who seems to have the resilience of Wolverine.

[@VanAleph]

22:45 Neat, this cruiser comes with its own brass section

[@Fellfloete]

very good as always - greetings from the ruhtgebiet

[@generalvikus2138]

Von Caprivi spent his tenure supporting a national strategy based on Germany's actual situation, and trying to accomplish this as cost - effectively as possible. Tirpitz spent his tenure drumming up tensions with a friendly power in order to create a new strategic situation for the aggrandizement of his own service, all while demanding as much money as possible. So who was the better Minister for Germany - as opposed to the German Navy?

[@dclark142002]

Interesting points. Actual effectiveness vs what leaders wanted...lots of interesting beer conversation here.

[@HD-mp6yy]

Leo von Caprivi the Admiral every general dreams about.

[@jeddkeech259]

another historical artwork well done

[@mitchm4992]

It's really kind of ridiculous that Wilhelm II could be so interested in and involved in the Royal Navy and not understand how threatening Great Britain would find a German fleet even nearing their level.

[@tommihommi1]

consider that even in 1914, there were big feelings of friendship between the people of both navies. In the week of the assassination, which was the Kiel Week festival of 1914, a bunch of British ships were visiting Kiel, the Kaiser himself boarded a British ship wearing a British admiral's uniforms, sailors of both nations were partying together, everyone was happy.

[@battleship6177]

bro ive seen 3-5 comments now that youve made gawdamn

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@tommihommi1The Royal Navy and the German Imperial Navy shared the exact same uniform design. Aside from the insignia, there is no material difference between the uniforms worn by both services...

[@drewhunter8558]

Only because the Brits were both paranoid and arrogant.

[@FirstSpaceLord]

Did the british understand how threatening somebody else would find the size of the Royal Navy ?

[@agesflow6815]

Thank you, Drachinifel.

[@DaveSCameron]

Always a bonus to see you give us a more than five minutes upload as opposed to the meagre five and under efforts that I can’t help but feel somehow cheated but due to my inability to find anything else to criticise you for this will have to suffice… dammit you are good Sir. 🇬🇧🙏🇺🇸

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage episode about the German Empire Navy ...

[@micnorton9487]

11:07,, gotta love 19th century military fashion,, this dude's moustache is as flamboyant as General Ambrose Burnside's crazy "sideburns" that started the name sideburns...

[@lafeelabriel]

About as effective a commander as Burnside was too.. Although in Burnside's defense he kept claiming he wasn't up to the jobs that he kept being handed, his superiors just kept on not listening.

[@micnorton9487]

@@lafeelabriel Good point,, General Burnside just didn't seem to learn from the deaths of his men... General McClellan at Antietam ordered General Burnside to quit attacking across the stone bridge because of the horrific casualties,, and General McClellan has always been bashed by history for doing so when General Burnside a few months later did the same thing at Fredericksburg... I guess he was openly crying, totally despondent the next morning and wanted to lead the new charge himself, obviously suffering severe survivor's guilt and wanting to die with his men but his subordinates talked him out of it... then the battle of the crater,, the war between the states sure didn't go very well for General Burnside...

[@lafeelabriel]

@@micnorton9487 He did rather tend to go..unhinged when things went wrong (Antietam, Fredericksburg, the Mud March, and of course the Crater)

[@micnorton9487]

@@lafeelabriel Well mate his performance in the field was mixed,, on the field of combat he made horrendous mistakes, but his staff ops were good,, sorta... like at Fredericksburg,, like a gentleman he waited over 2 weeks for pontoon bridges to cross the river, unfortunately by that time Lee's men were thoroughly entrenched in the heights surrounding Fredericksburg... and from all accounts General Burnside was a gracious host at his headquarters and at the many balls he attended he cut quite a figure,, but so many Union generals were just businessmen and bankers in Federal uniform......

[@thadvinson2959]

⁠McClellan was the quartermaster that every army needs. He just wasn’t bold enough to be in high command.

[@akumaking1]

Oh boy, Drachinifel video!

[@JoboGamezzz]

I’d like to mention that Willy’s reign saw the merchant fleet expand 2 as german ships actually competed with British ones for the blue ribbon and for luxury aswell as Germany debatably having the first super liner the Kaiser willhelm der grosse

[@AndrewGivens]

A genuinely fascinating fleet, one which quite clearly transitioned from the 'scandinavian' model to a first-class blue-water navy in a worryingly short time (from the British perspective). I think that some of the deigns were clever, and what many of them may have lacked in elegance (at least by existing British standards of beauty in a warship) they made up for in pure innovation. The Sachsens and the 9.4-inch battleships were both very curious at first glance, but absolutely a case of thinking outside the box, and glorious for it. Interestingly, while slipways may have been a limiting factor for procurement during the 1880s, the Vulcan yard at Stettin was still able to make space to build several warships for the Qing Empire; two fascinating but nevertheless diminutive 'armoured cruisers' or torpedo rams and, slightly preceding these, the pair of rather impressive Dingyuan-class battleships and the small torpedo cruiser Jiyuan. Vulcan's design was very evident in these vessels - they would not have been out of place in the ironclad-era German coast-defence fleet, alongside the Sachsens and small Wespe-class gunboats. So, Vulcan may or may not have been building to foreign contract as make-up work during lean times, but they certainly had capacity to turn out fine ships in reasonable numbers. Had the German politics and economics of the time paid attention to this, then it's my opinion that a steady - if moderate - stream of construction would have been quite possible, even at this early date. The benefits of this would have been many and obvious, I feel.

[@brittenmusic6923]

Somewhat related to Queen Victoria 🤣

[@drewhunter8558]

I know...I caught that too...a bit looney to say.....

[@marckyle5895]

WW1 was just a family spat between cousins.

[@williestyle35]

Yep. Wilhelm II was a grandson of HRH Queen Victoria, through his mother - Victoria, Princess Royal.

[@timclaridge7455]

That intro music, is exactly what your content and hard work to create said content deserves. I wish that same music would play when I walk through the door at work every morning...

[@rcwagon]

VERY INTERESTING video. Thank you Drach!

[@nevillemignot1681]

I do think that the term 'High Seas Fleet' directly was perhaps to show the German people that their navy could venture out into the North Sea and out on the 'High Seas'?

[@teekaa2520]

Thanks for mentioning and showing the Frankfurt Parliament 👍

[@oliversmith9200]

I'm not sure I'm not imposing my own esthetic prejudices, but... I love the line and looks of some of those German boats in contrast to, for example, some nation's of the period's floating hotels.

[@RailfanDownunder]

Superb work again sir😊

[@theawickward2255]

Today's my birthday, so thank you for the excellent birthday video, Drach.

[@SamAlley-l9j]

Thanks Drach.

[@rochenmanta838]

small correction, the inception of german nationalism was the resistance against french domination during the napoleonic wars, not 1848. The revolutions of 1848 culminated from those sentiments

[@GARDENER42]

How did I miss this - flippin YT notifications failing, again...

[@williamgreen7415]

Thanks!

[@ottovonbismarck2443]

The Drachnicisms were high up with the best of your best ! EFF me, I still have tears of laughter rolling down. 🤣 You know, sometimes the EXCELLENT information is only your secondary battery.

[@robertpearson8798]

The opening music had me thinking that I'd accidentally clicked on a Mark Felton video. I’m relieved to discover that I didn’t.

[@alexv3357]

I want to write a story now about a Great Central European Sea that suddenly gets filled in by some nation from another world

[@sebastianheinecke8568]

Thx to you very much, to have done a importand view of thw Gemayy Navy ...

[@ryanbrewis6990]

That's an interesting idea. Two navies, both using Jeune Ecolle strategies, fighting each other. Wonder how that would go. Can't really torpedo a torpedo boat after all. Not easily anyhow.

Your Central European sea has the wrong shape. That’s the shape of contemporary Germany, not something the Kaiser would have recognised.

[@PalleRasmussen]

Oh, looks more like a schnapps ration today.

[@MrKatzinski]

"... industrious people in lederhosen!" ... 😊😊😊... funny how other people see us ... anyway ... good video thumbs up 👍

[@jasonz7788]

Thanks drach

[@ihn-90]

This is gonna be fun

[@howardjones7569]

Hey Drach, sorry to be picky but surely it is offence and defence?

[@Drachinifel]

That's how I'd spell it but the YT autocorrect was annoying me so I gave in.

[@tommihommi1]

always these Americans forcing their spelling on you

[@NathanDudani]

​@@tommihommi1 gekoloniseerd

[@williamzk9083]

@@tommihommi1 Actually its the British forcing their spelling on the world. herb used to be speled erb (so the Americans pronounce it correctly) , Solder was soder. Self Appointed British "style council" types introduced pointless new letters in hundreds of words.

[@akmzd6938]

​@@williamzk9083Inglis ortografi is ol boloks eniuei.

[@wacherwicht1810]

I think we called them "Große Kreuzer" and "Kleine Kreuzer" (Big Cruiser and Small Cruiser)

[@alexandermuller7142]

I often tell the little joke / story that the Valued Added Tax (VAT) was invented to fund the Kaiserliche Marine. These ships have been lying at the bottom of the ocean for a long time, but the tax is still alive and kicking. I never checked if its true, because if not, i would not be able to tell that anymore.

[@derbonuspool1274]

Its not the Regular VAT but a specific Tax on Foam wines (Champagne, Prosecco etc.) and yeah that very same tax to fund this fleet is still alive and kicking.

[@maryholder3795]

So the naval arms race between Germany, France and Uk started. Starting small late 1800 and getting bigger and bigger till the UK and Germami Dreadnought ships. Leading eventually to the naval battles in WW1 between Germany and England.

[@ZacharyAmmerman]

Could you make a video similar to this but in how the US Navy had developed into its own super power, starting from the Monitors in the Civil War to the re-establishment of the US Navy up until the Grand Tour of the Great White Fleet?

[@ThomasSteffien]

thank you for making a bit of german 18th and 19th cent. history clear to all the people that do not know much about it

[@SA-xf1eb]

Witty and informative.

[@graveyard1979]

I have fond memory playing this early navy in in Carolines 1885. Promptly losing my Hansa to a Spanish torpedo gunboat.

[@w.osterberg9385]

Drach, thank you for another awesome video

[@gargolus.]

I can see the chef has cooked a scrumptious meal

[@laisphinto6372]

Damn Brits WE build some ships to protect our trade then the Engländer gets all pissy Out of nowhere

[@Dav1Gv]

Fascinating. I've always wondered if there was any evidence that if the money spent on the HIgh Seas Fleet had been spent on the army the Schlieffen Plan might have worked? Any comments?

[@Dr.GeoDave]

Would be nice to know, speed/range of ships and maybe compliment.

[@daguard411]

Thank You!

[@johnnash5118]

@27:27 Dual cage masts and stars and stripes off the port stern.

[@PsychicalTraumaPL]

I dare to say it's one of the early 20th century Virginia class US battleship 😎

[@johnnash5118]

@@PsychicalTraumaPL Good choice, but there were three classes in that era with three funnels and cage masts, the Maine, Virginia and Connecticut. I agree it’s likely the Virginia class because of the vertical-walled mast tops instead of the flared out tops that the Maine and Connecticut had.

[@jehl1963]

Hopefully a discussion of the sea-borne operations supporting Operation Albion will appear sometime in the future. It's an relatively unknown example of a successful large scale amphibious operation in WWI, and included a number of encounters between the German Navy and the Russian Navy.

[@steveh111]

"He was, in some way, related to Queen Victoria" - he was her eldest grandson!

[@emdenny10]

Like button hit before it started sir

[@grondhero]

*Alternate title:* The Rise of the Imperial German Navy Mustache.

[@simonfrederiksen104]

Very good! You could have mentioned in more detail how Denmark kicked Prussian and k.u.k. arse but otherwise top tier content.

[@Drachinifel]

The Schleiswig Wars will have their own video at some point :)

[@tommihommi1]

​@@Drachinifelsorry for being a spelling Prussian, but, Schleswig :P

[@simonfrederiksen104]

​@@tommihommi1 Slesvig & Holsten also commonly referred to as "the duchies" (meaning Slesvig & Holsten) Only the Germans slapped them together as one unit after the Prussians took over all the loot from A-H

[@JoboGamezzz]

@@simonfrederiksen104yes but they won on the land and Denmark lost when it was done with there support from other powerz

[@karstentopp]

The last time I was that early, Wilhelmshaven was still the main port of the German navy...

[@maltemeyer3171]

Technicaly corect, the best kind of corect.

[@normtrooper4392]

I'd love for you to do some videos about the Hanseatic league

[@gavinrewell9703]

Just brilliant

[@AndrewGraziani-k7d]

Awesome! There is nothing better than an early comment. I must think what to say. I mean, other than thanks, and please keep up the good work. Ew, how about this. A hypothetical match up between the American "standards" against British QE'S/Revenge's. You could add Hood and a Renown to round out numbers or not.

[@samsmith2635]

I came for the Seiner Majestaet Schiffen and stayed for the projection of Naval power

[@anelstarcevic696]

Last time I was this Early Deutschlands class battleships were not obsolete

[@petewood2350]

I think Drach has missed the other race that was on at the time in Europe. The Moustache race, He who could have the bigger and more elaborate Moustache.

[@gchoquette299]

Please do a review of the USS Princeton circa 1844.

[@PMMagro]

The 1864 "German states" war vs Denmark lasted until the Austrian navy from Trieste came up and fought the Danish navy.

[@Mechanical_Turk]

Wow, imagine a chief of the navy telling his sovereign that he simply doesn't want any more and bigger ships, money, or anything else to the point of resignation.

[@comentedonakeyboard]

Last time i was this early "Heil dir im Siegerkranz" was still Germanys national anthem.

[@thomasbenck9525]

Now wouldn't that tune sound familiar to some people?😂😂😂

[@comentedonakeyboard]

@@thomasbenck9525 dont tell the Copyright Bots 😂

[@GrahamCStrouse]

I was born in 1973. There were still people alive at the time who were older than Germany…

[@ottovonbismarck2443]

I really can't remember that admiral I fired ...

[@chpet1655]

Always thought von Caprivi was out of his depth and had bigger ideas that the nascent German Navy was never going to be of much use in.

[@davidperin9938]

I heard his ambitions and was confused about how they planned on paying for that fleet.

[@masterskrain2630]

Some of those early cruisers are just about as goofy looking as the French Pre-dreadnoughts. (Shudder), though with less of a resemblance to a hotel block.

[@silvergalaxie]

counter float armor,hull w/larger hull around it w/urethane beads between,with,upon piercing outer hull,beads burst to up to100times their size,adding ambient foam layer between inner &outer hulls. passè i know,considering railgun

[@andyhastings5950]

I have located what l believe to be an Asian salute cannon. It's bronze or brass. Lot of decorations cast into the whole cannon, even has handles cast in. I appears to be approximately 2.5" Bore. If interested PM me.

[@kkupsky6321]

I’m trying to get the Yamamoto joke. Could count on his injured hand? So four? They had four? 🤦‍♀️

[@michimatsch5862]

It's more saying that they were incredibly few. Like, not to be taken entirely literally.

[@brownwrench]

Does that wild helmet worn by Willhelm 2 still exist?

[@keeshoogendoorn6241]

Who needs congres when you've got leo von Caprivi

[@ggginforlab]

0:48 The little mermaid in lederhosen... 😁