and was the first Flotilla Chief of the Torpedo Flotillas. Later he was appointed Chief of the Staff at the naval station in the Baltic and of the Supreme Command of the German Fleet. During these earlier years of his sea career, Admiral Tirpitz made several long voyages. He is regarded as an eminent tactician, and is the author of the rules for German naval tactics as now in use in the Navy. In 1895 he was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral, and became Vice-Admiral in 1899. In 1896 and 1897 he commanded the cruiser squadron in East Asia, and immediately after became Secretary of State of the Imperial Navy Office. In the following year he was made a Minister of State and Naval Secretary, and in 1901 received the hereditary rank of nobility, entitling him to the use of the honorific prefix “Von.” [1] German Sea Power: Its Rise, Progress and Economic Basis, by Archibald Hurd and Henry Castle (London: John Murray 1913). With the advent of this sailor-statesman to the Marineamt, the whole course of German naval policy changed, and in 1898 the first German Navy Act was passed authorising a navy on a standard which far exceeded anything hitherto attained. It provided for the following ships: THE BATTLE FLEET 19 battleships (2 as material reserve). 8 armoured coast defence vessels. 6 large cruisers. 16 small cruisers. FOREIGN SERVICE FLEET LARGE CRUISERS For East Africa 2 For Central and South America 1 Material reserve 3 -- Total 6 SMALL CRUISERS For East Asia 3 For Central and South America 3 For East Africa 2 For the South Seas 2 Material reserve 4 -- Total 14 1 Station ship.