From Naval Race to War The German penetration into Africa, Turkey, China and Samoa was hinting at a more aggressive German foreign policy. The naval armament, pushed since 1997/98 by the secretary of state in the Reich’s naval office, Alfred von Tirpitz, showed more than anything from the very beginning a distinctly anti-British character. The plans were enthusiastically supported by William II. Just as his grandfather, William I, had united the Reich with the help of a stronger Prussian army, so he himself was determined to meddle in global politics, supported by his powerful navy.