To determine which nation had an advantage at sea when World War I began in 1914, we need to compare the number of dreadnoughts built by Britain and Germany up until that year. Let's summarize the number of dreadnoughts constructed by each country and find the differences.
First, we shall compute the total number of battleships (dreadnoughts) constructed by Britain and Germany up to 1914:
[tex]\[
\begin{array}{|c|c|c|}
\hline
\text{Year} & \text{Britain} & \text{Germany} \\
\hline
<1910 & 7 & 7 \\
\hline
1910 & 3 & 1 \\
\hline
1911 & 5 & 3 \\
\hline
1912 & 3 & 2 \\
\hline
1913 & 7 & 3 \\
\hline
1914 & 3 & 1 \\
\hline
\end{array}
\][/tex]
Now, summing up the dreadnoughts for each nation:
For Britain:
[tex]\[
7 + 3 + 5 + 3 + 7 + 3 = 28
\][/tex]
For Germany:
[tex]\[
7 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 17
\][/tex]
Next, we calculate the difference in the number of dreadnoughts between Britain and Germany:
[tex]\[
\text{Difference} = \text{Number of British dreadnoughts} - \text{Number of German dreadnoughts}
\][/tex]
[tex]\[
\text{Difference} = 28 - 17 = 11
\][/tex]
Therefore, Britain had 11 more battleships than Germany when World War I began. This means Britain had the advantage at sea with eleven more battleships.
Thus, the correct answer is:
Britain, with eleven more battleships.
