Alfred von Tirpitz
In the struggle over the Kaiser's naval expenditures, he admitted in February 1896 that "there are not 10 people in the Reichstag in favor of our great future fleet plans." He resigned in June 1897 because he could not prevail in getting the Kaiser’s desired increases in the 1897 budget of the navy through the Reichstag. He promoted a navy of mainly cruisers as opposed to the heavy battle fleet sought by his successor, Alfred von Tirpitz.