Installment #38: With an international naval arms race stoking paranoia on all sides, in 1912 ship designers around the world brought their “A” game with designs for the biggest, most powerful ships the world had ever seen, including the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth, the USS Pennsylvania, and the Imperial German Navy’s Bayern. In Germany’s case, however, the new super-dreadnought would prove to be something of a last hurrah, as far as naval construction was concerned.... READ ON

Installment #36: In 1912, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece conspired to attack the Ottoman Empire and divide its European territories; the Balkan League, as their loose alliance was known, came together through a series of secret meetings between the ambassadors, foreign ministers, prime ministers and monarchs of all four countries continuing into the late summer of 1912.... READ ON

Installment #34: By September 1912, Europe was divided into two alliance blocs, knit together by treaties both secret and public: on one side there was the alliance between France and Russia, which was augmented by the increasingly friendly entente cordiale between France and Britain (further cemented in the summer of 1912 by the Anglo-French Naval Convention, negotiated in July and finally signed on August 29). On the other side were Germany and its ailing sidekick Austria-Hungary, drawing ever closer... READ ON

Installment #32: In the early years of the 20th century, the United States, a burgeoning industrial power, looked to protect its booming overseas commerce with a powerful navy. Naval spending jumped from $55 million in 1900 to $139 million by 1910, and by 1912 the U.S. Navy was second only to Britain’s Royal Navy. The successful world tour of the Great White Fleet from 1907-1909 further convinced the American public and lawmakers of the importance of naval power, and the U.S. didn’t hesitate... READ ON