Germany’s mercantile shipping by the powerful British navy made her
position critical. This scenario however had long been anticipated by some in
Germany’s scientific community. As early as 1903, Ostwald had raised the
issue of the influence of a British naval blockade on Germany’s ability to
defend herself, and highlighted his ‘new’ process which oxidised ammonia to
produce nitric acid. Early on in the war then, it was not surprising that
German scientists, economists and industrialists realised the military
predicament and organized to lobby the Minister of War to place industry on
a firm war footing—even suggesting that by excluding industry from their
preparations, the German General Staff had played into the hands of the
enemy. To emphasise their influence, on the morning of 04 October 1914,
people across Germany opened their newspapers to find the Manifesto,
‘Proclamation to the Civilised World !’ signed by 93 members of the German
intelligentsia—including Fritz Haber—reflecting the bitterness of the
German government and defending the invasion of Belgium. Principal signatories were Emil Fischer the scientist, and Walther Rathenau the economist, who had already proposed a system of controls to the Minister of War
to allow the efficient organisation and distribution of important raw materials
barred from import by the British blockade. As a result, Rathenau was
appointed as Head of a new ‘Board of Wartime Raw Materials’ and he
quickly appointed a select group of scientists and industrialists to help him—
Fritz Haber being appointed head of the Chemistry Department of the
Board. They immediately drew up an inventory of raw materials available for
the war effort. The result appalled them, suggesting that the war at its current
level could be continued for six months at most—foremost amongst their
concerns being the stockpile of nitrates from Chile,
10 and this concern had
already led to an early, but bizarre, military encounter between the British and
German Naval fleets.
13.4 The Battle of Coronel
On 05 October 1914, the day after the proclamation was published, the
British intercepted a German radio communication and learned of
Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf Von Spee’s plan to prey upon shipping in the
crucial trading routes along the west coast of South America. Patrolling in the
area at that time was Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock’s South Atlantic
Squadron, composed entirely of either obsolete or under-armed vessels,
crewed by inexperienced naval reservists. In contrast, Von Spee had a formidable force of five modern vessels which gave them an overwhelming
13 Haber and the Chemist’s War 1914–18
245
position critical. This scenario however had long been anticipated by some in
Germany’s scientific community. As early as 1903, Ostwald had raised the
issue of the influence of a British naval blockade on Germany’s ability to
defend herself, and highlighted his ‘new’ process which oxidised ammonia to
produce nitric acid. Early on in the war then, it was not surprising that
German scientists, economists and industrialists realised the military
predicament and organized to lobby the Minister of War to place industry on
a firm war footing—even suggesting that by excluding industry from their
preparations, the German General Staff had played into the hands of the
enemy. To emphasise their influence, on the morning of 04 October 1914,
people across Germany opened their newspapers to find the Manifesto,
‘Proclamation to the Civilised World !’ signed by 93 members of the German
intelligentsia—including Fritz Haber—reflecting the bitterness of the
German government and defending the invasion of Belgium. Principal signatories were Emil Fischer the scientist, and Walther Rathenau the economist, who had already proposed a system of controls to the Minister of War
to allow the efficient organisation and distribution of important raw materials
barred from import by the British blockade. As a result, Rathenau was
appointed as Head of a new ‘Board of Wartime Raw Materials’ and he
quickly appointed a select group of scientists and industrialists to help him—
Fritz Haber being appointed head of the Chemistry Department of the
Board. They immediately drew up an inventory of raw materials available for
the war effort. The result appalled them, suggesting that the war at its current
level could be continued for six months at most—foremost amongst their
concerns being the stockpile of nitrates from Chile,
10 and this concern had
already led to an early, but bizarre, military encounter between the British and
German Naval fleets.
13.4 The Battle of Coronel
On 05 October 1914, the day after the proclamation was published, the
British intercepted a German radio communication and learned of
Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf Von Spee’s plan to prey upon shipping in the
crucial trading routes along the west coast of South America. Patrolling in the
area at that time was Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock’s South Atlantic
Squadron, composed entirely of either obsolete or under-armed vessels,
crewed by inexperienced naval reservists. In contrast, Von Spee had a formidable force of five modern vessels which gave them an overwhelming
13 Haber and the Chemist’s War 1914–18
245