Karl Haenchen, author of several works on 19th-century German history, focuses in this treatise on the emergence of the first all-German fleet. He describes how, during the Revolution of 1848, the idea of a joint fleet first arose, how this was realized through the construction and organization of a German imperial fleet, and how ultimately the struggle for its preservation failed, leading to its dissolution as early as 1852. This is a reprint of the original edition from 1927. "What had been neglected for centuries was to be accomplished in one fell swoop; this was the unanimous wish of the German nation. But the prerequisite for its existence was lacking: that this nation was united in a strong national state. The old spirit of discord could not be overcome, and thus its fate was sealed.".