The author, who was the last Grand Admiral of the German Empire, served as State Secretary in the Imperial Naval Office from 1897 and was a driving force behind the expansion of the German High Seas Fleet. According to his Tirpitz Plan, the rearmament of the German fleet was intended to achieve a near parity with the English fleet over a period of twenty years, thereby establishing a dominant position in the North Sea. Tirpitz was also responsible for the development of the trading and naval base of Tsingtau in China. In his memoirs, Tirpitz's personal biography is closely intertwined with a depiction of the political and military developments before and during World War I. Tirpitz wrote the book as a justification of his policies, which he understood as preserving peace.