“Uncomfortable Issues”: Kitchener's 1910 Report and Imperial German Assessment of Australian Defence Preparedness in the Context of <i>Weltpolitik</i>

Prime Minister Alfred Deakin invited Field Marshal Viscount Kitchener to visit Australia in 1909 to inspect the overall state of defence preparedness and to advise the best way to provide Australia with more effective land defences. Kitchener's report was submitted in February 1910 and, along with wide‐ranging infrastructure advice, recommended the introduction of compulsory military training. An examination of how Australia's closest colonial neighbour viewed defence programs and their implications for both Germany's position in the Asia‐Pacific region and British Imperial unity contributes much to the continuing debate over Australia's involvement in the First World War. With an understanding of Kaiser Wilhelm II's expansionist “world policy” which necessitated preparation for what was regarded as a possible conflict with Britain, German activity in Australia and the broader Asia‐Pacific region is placed in a meaningful world‐political context.