German Pre-War Espionage in Great Britain

Abstract

In 1901, the Chief of the Admiralstab assigned German naval intelligence an apparently straightforward task, the ‘gathering of accurate and sufficient intelligence on the opponent (Gegner) so as to enable the Admiralstab to make appropriate preparations for the event of war’.¹ However, until 1911 it was far from clear for German naval planners which navy would be their most likely opponent. Chancellor Bismarck, who was in office until 1890, viewed Britain as a potential ally, and the Admiralstab’s operations planning was directed primarily at Russia and France. The German navy even counted on British naval support against France.² In 1892, Naval Captain Tirpitz, then Chief of Staff of the Naval High Command, submitted a memorandum to the Kaiser outlining contingency plans against Germany’s most likely foes, France and Russia, adding: ‘As soon as the English fleet can be regarded as hostile to the French, we will only have to focus on Russia in the European theatre.’³ In effect, the main purpose of the German navy would be to keep the French and Russian navies separated. However, as soon as Tirpitz became Secretary of the Naval Office (1897), he changed his mind and explained to the Kaiser that Germany’s most dangerous foe to date was England.⁴