Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II was the German emperor and Prussian King from 1888-1918. He was well known for being a militarist. He was known as the Supreme War Lord in Germany, however he did not actively seek wat, but he believed in the importance of a strong army. This made aware through his speeches and his newspaper interviews

Although Wilhelm tried to stop his generals from mobilizing the German Army in 1914, the way he conducted himself and the fact he was a known militarist meant that he was blamed for the outbreak of WW1. Wilhelm wanted to follow the Schliffen plan, which meant attacking France, the weakest ally, first. However, he did not want Britain to become involved in the war, and they had stated that if France was attacked, Britain would delcare war on Germany.

As Bismarck searched for a parliamentary majority, and had a meeting with the Centre Party's leader Ludwig Windthorst. Wilhelm was furious to hear of this. He believed that he, as Kaiser, should be told of the meetings that his ministers have. After a heated argument about this, Bismarck wrote his letter of resignation. Bismarck resigned, at the insistence of Wilhelm II in 1890, and was succeeded by General Leo Caprivi.