Politics of Frustration: The United States in German Naval Planning, 1889-1941

333 Pages·1976·5.662 MB·English

by  Holger H. Herwig

POLITICS OF FRUSTRATION
Books by Holger H. Herwig
T he German N aval Officer Corps 1890-1918: A
Social and Political History
Politics of Frustration: The United States
in German Naval Planning 1889-1941
POLITICS OF FRUSTRATION
The United States in
German Naval Planning,
1889— 1941
HOLGER H. HERWIG
Little, Brown and Company—Boston-Toronto
Copyright © 1976 by Holger H. Herwig
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED
IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY ELECTRONIC OR MECHANICAL MEANS IN­
CLUDING INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS WITHOUT
PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM THE PUBLISHER, EXCEPT BY A REVIEWER
WHO MAY QUOTE BRIEF PASSAGES IN A REVIEW.
FIRST EDITION
T 04/76
The author is grateful to the following publishers for permission to reprint previ­
ously copyrighted materials:
The University of Chicago Press, for “Prelude to Weltblitzkrieg” by Holger H.
Herwig, as published in Journal of Modern History, Vol. 43, No. 4, December 1971.
Copyright © 1971 by The University of Chicago.
The Historian, for the article “The Failure of Imperial Germany’s Undersea Of­
fensive Against World Shipping” by Holger H. Herwig and David Trask, Vol. 33,
No. 4, August 1971. Copyright © 1971 by Phi Alpha Theta.
Central European History, for the article “Admirals versus Generals: The War
Aims of the Imperial German Navy 1914-1918” by Holger H. Herwig, Vol. 5, Sep­
tember 1972. Copyright © 1972 by Emory University.
Militärgeschichtliche Mitteilungen^ for the article “Naval Operations Plans Be­
tween Germany and the United States of America 1898-1913” by Holger H. Herwig
and David Trask, 2/1970, S 5-32.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA
Herwig, Holger H
Politics of frustration.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
i. United States — Foreign relations — Germany.
2. Germany — Foreign relations — United States.
3. United States — History, Naval. 4. Germany —
History, Naval. 5. European War, 1914-1918 — Causes.
6. World War, 1939-1945 — Causes. I. Title.
E183.8.G3H44 327.73r043 75-43997
ISBN 0-316-35890-8
Designed by Susan Windheim
Published simultaneously in Canada
by Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For Lorraine
“Contrariwise,” continued Tweedledum,
“if it was so, it might be;
and, if it were so, it would be;
but as it ain’t, it ain’t.
That’s logic.”
— Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Author’s Note
A NUMBER OF PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN GENEROUSLY OF THEIR TIME AND KNOWL-
edge to this study. First and foremost, I would like to thank Professor
Andreas Hillgruber of Cologne University for discussing this subject
with me during several visits, and for making available to me then un­
published manuscripts dealing with this topic. Dr. Jost Diilffer of the
same university was kind enough to share his work on the “Raeder”
period prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Professor
David F. Trask of the State University of New York at Stony Brook has
collaborated with me on a number of specialized researches on German-
American naval history, and has unselfishly shared his own research on
the United States Navy during the First World War. Several of my
colleagues at Vanderbilt University, especially J. Leon Helguera and
Melvyn P. Leffler, read segments of this manuscript and rendered critical
evaluations. Their judicious comments greatly benefited this study; the
shortcomings remain my own.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Alexander von Hum­
boldt-Stiftung in Bonn, West Germany, for financial aid, to the Vander­
bilt University Research Council for extending summer fellowships and
grants-in-aid, and to Roger Donald of Little, Brown and Company for
his generous encouragement.
Finally, I owe a great deal to my undergraduate students, who by the
simple devices of friendship and honesty have buoyed me up over the
past three years.
H. H. H.
San Marcos, California
July ip75

Contents
Introduction: The Newcomers 3
part i T he W eltpolitik of W ilhelm ii
and the U nited States (1889-1906) 11
1 Competition in the Pacific (1889-1899) 13
Samoa I (1889) 14
The American “Danger” 18
Spain’s Heirs Fall Out (1898) 24
Samoa II (1899) 36
2 Contingency War Planning: Berlin (1899-1900) 40
Invasion Strategies I (1898-1900) 42
Thoughts for a New Age (/ January 1900) 54
Invasion Strategies II (1900-1902) 57
3 The Way West ( 1901-1906) 67
German Bases in Latm America? 68
The Monroe Doctrine 72
Venezuelan Blockade (1902-1903) 76
Operations Plan III (1903-1906) 85
4 Contingency War Planning: Washington (1900-1913) 93
part 11 T he Great W ar (1914-1918) 111
5 Germany and the United States at War (1917-1918) 113
The Calculated Risk (9 January 1917) 116
The War at Sea (1917) 126
German War Aims and the United States 133
The War at Sea (1918) 138
Epilogue 150
6 United States Strategy (1917-1918) 152
[ ix 1
Contents
part hi T he T hiRd Reich and
the U nited States (1933-1941) 173
7 Background: Hitler, Raeder, and the United States 175

Hitler’s View of the United States 179

National Socialist Foreign and Colonial Policies 184
, ,
Hitler Raeder and Sea Power 188
8 Once More World War (1939-1941) 196
(
Hitler and Raeder at War 1939-1940) 197
(
Roosevelt Acts 1940) 219
On the Brink (1941) 227
9 Germany and the United States at War (1941-1945) 235
part iv Conclusion: Patterns of Conflict 253
Chapter Notes 262
Select Bibliography 291
Index 305

Map: The 1899 Invasion Plan 50
[x]