The North Sea Guard

Between 1903 and 1907 the Admiralty had recognized that preventing a German invasion of the British Isles was likely to prove more problematic than is often accepted. These fears increased precipitously over the course of the following three years. In 1907 a top-secret committee of officers chaired by Captain Sydney Fremantle confirmed that a German landing of up to 80,000 men appeared eminently feasible under the Navy’s existing war plans. For political reasons Admiral Sir John Fisher was unwilling to inform the government of this fact, and set about using the Navy’s most modern warships—including HMS Dreadnought—in an audacious plan to diffuse the danger. At the same time the military authorities continued to prepare to send the Army to the Continent, increasing the pressure on the Navy to ensure the defence of British shores.