After Bismarck's dismissal, Wilhelm II assumed direct control over his nation's policies and embarked on a bellicose "New Course" to cement its status as a leading world power. Over the course of his reign, Germany acquired territories in China and the Pacific (such as Kiautschou Bay, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Caroline Islands) and became Europe's largest manufacturer. However, Wilhelm often undermined such progress by voicing xenophobic views and making threatening statements towards other countries without consulting his ministers. Likewise, his regime did much to alienate itself from other great powers by initiating a massive naval build-up, challenging French control of Morocco, and building a railway through Baghdad that threatened Britain's dominion in the Persian Gulf. By the second decade of the 20th century, Germany could rely only on significantly weaker nations such as Austria-Hungary and the declining Ottoman Empire as allies.