Power of the peace idea—Causes of the love of peace in Germany—
German consciousness of strength—Lack of definite political aims
—Perilous situation of Germany and the conditions of successful
self-assertion—Need to test the authority of the peace idea, and to
explain the tasks and aims of Germany in the light of history

CHAPTER I THE RIGHT TO MAKE WAR

Pacific ideals and arbitration—The biological necessity of war—The
duty of self-assertion—The right of conquest—The struggle for
employment—War a moral obligation—Beneficent results of war
—War from the Christian and from the materialist standpoints—
Arbitration and international law—Destructiveness and immorality
of peace aspirations—Real and Utopian humanity—Dangerous
results of peace aspirations in Germany—The duty of
the State

CHAPTER II THE DUTY TO MAKE WAR

Bismarck and the justification of war—The duty to fight—The teaching
of history—War only justifiable on adequate grounds—The
foundations of political morality—Political and individual morality
—The grounds for making war—The decision to make war—The
responsibility of the statesman

CHAPTER III A BRIEF SURVEY OF GERMANY'S HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

The ways of Providence in history—Christianity and the Germans—
The Empire and the Papacy—Breach between the German World
Empire and the revived spiritual power—Rise of the great States
of Europe and political downfall of Germany after the Thirty
Years' War—Rise of the Prussian State—The epoch of the Revolution
and the War of Liberation—Intellectual supremacy of
Germany—After the War of Liberation—Germany under William
I. and Bismarck—Change in the conception of the State and
the principle of nationality—New economic developments and
the World Power of England—Rise of other World Powers—
Socialism, and how to overcome it—German science and art—
Internal disintegration of Germany and her latent strength

CHAPTER IV GERMANY'S HISTORICAL MISSION

Grounds of the intellectual supremacy of Germany—Germany's role
as spiritual and intellectual leader—Conquest of religious and
social obstacles—Inadequacy of our present political position—
To secure what we have won our first duty—Necessity of increasing
our political power—Necessity of colonial expansion—
Menace to our aspirations from hostile Powers

CHAPTER V WORLD POWER OR DOWNFALL

Points of view for judging of the political situation—The States of the
Triple Alliance—The political interests of France and Russia—
The Russo-French Alliance—The policy of Great Britain—
America and the rising World Powers of the Far East—The importance
of Turkey—Spain and the minor States of Europe—Perilous
position of Germany—World power or downfall—Increase
of political power: how to obtain it—German colonial
policy—The principle of the balance of power in Europe—Neutral
States—The principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs
of other States—Germany and the rules of international politics
—The foundations of our internal strength

CHAPTER VI THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ARMY FOR WAR

Its necessity—Its twofold aspect—The educational importance of
military efficiency—Different military systems—Change in the
nature of military efficiency due to the advance of civilization—
Variety of methods of preparation for war—The armaments of
minor States—The armaments of the Great Powers—Harmonious
development of all elements of strength—Influence on armaments
of different conceptions of the duties of the State—Permanent
factors to be kept in sight in relation to military preparedness—
Statecraft in this connection

CHAPTER VII THE CHARACTER OF OUR NEXT WAR

Our opponents—The French army—The military power of Russia—
The land forces of England—The military power of Germany and
Austria; of Italy—The Turkish army—The smaller Balkan States
—The Roumanian army—The armies of the lesser States of Central
Europe—Greece and Spain—The fleets of the principal naval
Powers—The enmity of France—The hostility of England—
Russia's probable behaviour in a war against Germany—The
military situation of Germany—Her isolation—What will be at
stake in our next war—Preparation for war

CHAPTER VIII THE NEXT NAVAL WAR

England's preparations for a naval war against Germany—Germany's first measures against England—England and the neutrality of the small neighbouring States—The importance of Denmark—Commercial mobilization—The two kinds of blockade: The close blockade and the extended blockade—England's attack on our coasts—Co-operation of the air-fleet in their defence—The decisive battle and its importance—Participation of France and Russia in a German-English war

CHAPTER IX THE CRUCIAL QUESTION

Reciprocal relations of land and sea power—The governing points of view in respect of war preparations—Carrying out of universal military service—The value of intellectual superiority—Masses, weapons, and transport in modern war—Tactical efficiency and the quality of the troops—The advantage of the offensive—Points to be kept in view in war preparations—Refutation of the prevailing restricted notions on this head—The Ersatzreserve—New formations—Employment of the troops of the line and the new formations—Strengthening of the standing army—The importance of personality

CHAPTER X ARMY ORGANIZATION

Not criticism wanted of what is now in existence, but its further development—Fighting power and tactical efficiency—Strength of the peace establishment—Number of officers and N.C.O.'s, especially in the infantry—Relations of the different arms to each other—Distribution of machine guns—Proportion between infantry and artillery—Lessons to be learned from recent wars with regard to this—Superiority at the decisive point—The strength of the artillery and tactical efficiency—Tactical efficiency of modern armies—Tactical efficiency and the marching depth of an army corps—Importance of the internal organization of tactical units—Organization and distribution of field artillery; of heavy field howitzers—Field pioneers and fortress pioneers—Tasks of the cavalry and the air-fleet—Increase of the cavalry and formation of cyclist troops—Tactical organization of the cavalry—Development of the air-fleet—Summary of the necessary requirements—Different ways of carrying them out—Importance of governing points of view for war preparations

CHAPTER XI TRAINING AND EDUCATION

The spirit of training—Self-dependence and the employment of masses—
Education in self-dependence—Defects in our training for war on the
grand scale—Need of giving a new character to our manoeuvres and to
the training of our commanders—Practical training of the artillery—
Training in tactical efficiency—Practice in marching under war
conditions—Training of the train officers and column leaders—
Control of the General Staff by the higher commanders—Value of
manoeuvres: how to arrange them—Preliminary theoretical training of
the higher commanders—Training of the cavalry and the airmen; of the
pioneers and commissariat troops—Promotion of intellectual development
in the army—Training in the military academy

CHAPTER XII PREPARATION FOR THE NAVAL WAR

The position of a World Power implies naval strength—Development
of German naval ideals—The task of the German fleet; its strength
—Importance of coast defences—Necessity of accelerating our
naval armaments—The building of the fleet—The institution of
the air-fleet—Preliminary measures for a war on commerce—
Mobilization—General points of view with regard to preparations
for the naval war—Lost opportunities in the past

CHAPTER XIII THE ARMY AND POPULAR EDUCATION

The universal importance of national education—Its value for the army—Hurtful influences at work on it—Duties of the State with regard to national health—Work and sport—The importance of the school—The inadequacy of our national schools—Military education and education in the national schools—Methods of instruction in the latter—Necessity for their reform—Continuation schools—Influence of national education on the Russo-Japanese War—Other means of national education—The propaganda of action

CHAPTER XIV FINANCIAL AND POLITICAL PREPARATION FOR WAR

Duties of the State in regard to war preparations—The State and national credit—The financial capacity of Germany—Necessity of new sources of revenue—The imperial right of inheritance—Policy of interests and alliances—Moulding and exploitation of the political situation—The laws of political conduct—Interaction of military and political war preparations—Political preparations for our next war—Governing factors in the conduct of German policy

EPILOGUE

The latest political events—Conduct of the German Imperial Government
—The arrangement with France—Anglo-French relations and
the attitude of England—The requirements of the situation