Their life is on very simple lines, both in
the Army and Navy, in order that the officers shall not vie with
one another in expenditure, and in order that the poorer officers
and their wives shall not be subject to the humiliation which
would be caused if they had to live in constant contact with
brother officers living on a more luxurious footing.
Von Tirpitz' ambition undoubtedly led him to consider himself
as a promising candidate for Bethmann-Hollweg's shoes. The whole
submarine issue, therefore, became not only a question of military
expediency and a question for the Foreign Office to decide in
connection with the relations of America to Germany, but also a
question of internal politics, a means of forcing the Chancellor
out of office. The advocates for the ruthless war were drawn from
the Navy and from the Army, and those who believed in the use
of any means of offence against their enemies and particularly
in the use of any means that would stop the shipment of munitions
of war to the Allies. The Army and the Navy were joined by the
Conservatives and by all those who hoped for the fall of the
Chancellor.
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