How Could the Sale of Heligoland be Prevented? Would the Nonsale Butterfly An Anglo-German War?

How could the sale of Heligoland have been prevented? And would the non-sale and the circumstances that produced it butterfly away a major "WWI"-type conflict in the early 20th Century, with Germany and England on opposite sides or, at least, some form of an Anglo-German war? In the even of war, could Heligoland have been successfully defended?
 
Seems like the reason it was never a real British naval base and the reason they were willing to hand it over was that they were pretty sure they couldn't successfully defend it.

To answer the other part, maybe? It was actually a good deal for Germany, get rid of an poorly conceived African colony in exchange for strategically important islands but everything is perception. Germany wanted to be a major power and to be a major power you need colonies. Had Germany kept Zanzibar they might have poured their resources and attention into that instead of interfering in the Balkans.
 
But Germany needed the island. It was a dagger pointed at their throat and militarily the need to controlling it was absolute. And by the same token it is impossible for the British to defend unless they station a substantial fleet there, which would trigger a war all on its own.
 
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