Questions about pre-WWI German military spending

by PromiseNotAThrowAway

I remember reading a long time ago, as part of a general argument against arms races as a cause of WWI, that the German army before the war was actually quite below its potential. Specifically that:

  • Compared to France, Germany was military spending was lower in terms of % of GDP, and in addition to the difference in conscription length of 2 vs 3 years after 1913, that Germany also called up annually a lower proportion of its male population.
  • The German naval buildup had become so expensive that it was starting to seriously constrain army spending.

I'm hoping people can comment on this in general. I would also hope in specifics if somebody can provide say from 1900-1914, numbers on Germany vs France's spending, conscription call up, and the changing percentage of German spending on naval vs army matters.

DeSoulis

Compared to France, Germany was military spending was lower in terms of % of GDP, and in addition to the difference in conscription length of 2 vs 3 years after 1913, that Germany also called up annually a lower proportion of its male population.

That's because France was 1) A smaller country in terms of population and industry and 2) believed that it had an excellent chance of going to war with Germany. Therefore it -had- to devote a larger proportion of its resources to its military to maintain some sort of parity. It's not necessarily good evidence that Germany was under-spending in terms of defense.