" 

 :::::In the build up to a war it is always open - Riddle of Sands was written as a warning to what the author perceived of as a lack of awareness of the danger of German invasion for example.  There was naval rivalry for sure.  Is there anything that links the arms purchase from Germany to specific rivalry or hostility?  Nothing in Larne gun-running  either, which references a gun runner in Hamburg with no mention of German Government involvement   "