Originally published in 1980 ‘Luxury’ Fleet (the phrase was Winston Churchill’s) was the first history of the Imperial German navy from 1888 to 1918. After tracing the historical background to German naval ambitions, the first two sections of the book analyse Admiral Tirpitz’s programme of building a battle fleet strong enough to engage the Royal Navy in the North Sea. The author shows the fleet in its European setting and describes the warships and the attitudes of the officer corps and seamen. The final section of the book discusses the tactical deployment of the German fleet during the First World War, both in home waters and overseas; and it weighs the balance between those who supported fleet actions in preference to those who favoured cruiser and submarine warfare.

• Cover 2
• Half Title 3
• Title Page 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Original Title Page 7
• Original Copyright Page 8
• Dedication 9
• Table of Contents 11
• List of Illustrations 13
• Abbreviations and Conversions 16
• Introduction 17
• Part One 23
  • I. Modest Beginnings: The Prussian/German Naval Tradition to 1888 25
  • II. Kaiser Wilhelm II: The Years of Hope and Misdirection, 1888–1898 33
  • III. The "New Course": Alfred v. Tirpitz, Architect of the Battle Fleet, 1897–1905 51