the involved officers. Simultaneously, Stosch began a campaign to force Werner out of the navy. This was in part to ensure that Batsch, his protégé, would be next in line after Stosch retired. Despite his popularity, particularly with Kaiser Wilhelm I and his son, Werner was unable to resist Stosch's efforts to force his ouster. On 15 October 1878, he requested retirement. The second court-martial again found Batsch guilty and Monts innocent of negligence. A third investigation, held in January 1879, reversed the decision of the previous verdicts and sentenced Monts to a prison term of one month and two days, though the Kaiser refused to implement the punishment. This necessitated another trial, which returned to the initial verdict and sentenced Batsch to six months in prison. The Kaiser commuted Batsch's sentence after he had served two months. Disappointed that his protégé had taken the blame for the sinking, Stosch requested another court-martial for Monts, who was found not guilty. The Kaiser officially approved the verdict, which put an end to the series of trials over the sinking of Grosser Kurfürst. Another consequence of the sinking was to instill an aversion to naval expenditures in the German that persisted for many years. Among the effects of this reluctance to spend on the navy was the refusal to authorize funding for new capital ships for most of the 1880s. In addition, the design for the ironclad , which was to have been a member of the , had to be reduced significantly as a result of the shortage of funds. The lives lost in the sinking of the Grosser Kurfürst are commemorated by a large stone obelisk erected at Cheriton Road Cemetery, in Folkestone. The Germans repeatedly considered projects to salvage the wreck until 1903. In 2020, it was announced by Historic England that the memorial would be listed as a Grade II listed building, and the wreck itself would be scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, allowing recreational diving under license but prohibiting salvage or removal of artifacts. Footnotes Notes Citations References Preussen-class ironclads Shipwrecks in the English Channel Maritime incidents in May 1878 1875 ships Ships sunk in collisions Ships built in Wilhelmshaven Maritime disasters in Kent