The First World War from 1914 to 1918 was at the time Europe’s worst. Newer and more deadly weapons and tactics were used that caused mounting casualties for all combatants. It ended when Germany requested an armistice, foregoing a formal surrender in favor of a negotiated peace. The British and French considered themselves the victors although they did not defeat Germany and relied on intervention by the United States. In the process of “negotiating” a peace agreement a scapegoat was needed, and that turned out to be Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. He was not particularly well-liked as a head of state, but was he responsible for all the alleged atrocities levied against him?
Background of Diplomacy in Europe Prior to World War I: A major irony of the political environment in Europe during the early 1900’s was that as many as seven descendants of Britain’s Queen Victoria were seated on thrones. Three of the major combatants in World War I, King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Czar Nicholas II of Russia, were her grandsons or married to one of her granddaughters. During the second half of the nineteenth century, Germany (formerly Prussia) was led by Otto Von Bismarck who was Chancellor of the German Empire. He endeavored to unite all the separate states in mid Europe into one state with the aid of victories in three short wars: against Denmark in 1864, against Austria in 1866, and against France in 1870. This unification effort led to a realignment of other countries in the region, most famously France and Russia in 1894. This alliance served to pin Germany in on both sides in an effort to block any further military-based expansion in central Europe. Bismarck was eventually relieved of his duties by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890 and retired from politics. As a head of state Wilhelm II conducted an erratic foreign diplomacy that irritated and alienated former allies. But the stage was set for a huge war being started by simple incident taking place in an ever-increasingly complicated system of alliances.
The Handling of the July, 1914 Crisis: On June 28, 1914, that simple incident took place when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, a friend and ally of Wilhelm II, was assassinated. He was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his assailant, Gavrilo Princep, was a Serbian national who was supported by the secret society known as the “Black Hand.” Austria consulted Wilhelm II to see if Germany would support their military effort against Hungary that could possibly include Russia, and on July 5, Wilhelm II confirmed that support, then went on his annual Baltic cruise. Although this is often referred to as the “Blank Cheque,” meaning that Germany gave its unconditional support, it actually referred only to Serbia and Russia. On July 23, Austria gave Serbia a long list of demands, including one that would allow Austro-Hungarian security officials to pursue Black Hand and any other anti-Austrian groups inside the Serbian border. On July 25, Serbia accepted most of the demands, but not those that infringed upon their sovereignty. On July 26. Having been reassured by the French that their alliance would include military action in Serbia against Austria-Hungary and/or Germany, Russia began preparations to intervene on Serbia’s behalf. Czar Nicholas II originally intended to offer only moral and diplomatic support as Russia was not prepared for a war. In the process he decided to partially mobilize for action in Austria and alerted the military to initiate it. There was a flurry of diplomatic effort including Wilhelm II attempting to confine the conflict to Serbia, and Britain offering to mediate. But gradually one step led to another and another and then another until war on Serbia was declared by Austria on July 28, 1914. Russia’s generals told Czar Nicholas II that a partial mobilization would be impossible to manage. The Czar then ordered a full mobilization of all military and naval forces on July 30. However, this full mobilization convinced Wilhelm II and German authorities that Russia was not expecting a war confined to the Balkans and would also attack Germany. Wilhelm’s Chief of the Great General Staff, Helmuth von Moltke, persuaded him that in the event of a two front war Germany needed to invade France first. In the first days of August Wilhelm declared war on Russia first and then France hoping to keep Britain out of it. The avenues to mediation began to close all around as the combatants mobilized for war. Hostilities began in earnest when Germany decided to invade Belgium on its way to attacking France, thereby bringing in Britain on August 4th, who had guaranteed Belgium’s neutrality.
The War and Corresponding Atrocities: During the war Wilhelm II took a hands-off approach to military activities allowing the generals and field marshals to do what they thought was best on the battlefields. This diminished role also led to diminished political power as Field Marshal Paul von Hindenberg and General Erich Ludendorff insulated Wilhelm from decision making and ran the country as a military dictatorship. When the fighting failed to accomplish the Germany military’s goals and the high command requested an armistice, Wilhelm’s authority in Germany had reached the bottom. The conduct of the War by the military included a number of atrocities that would come back to haunt Wilhelm. Those atrocities fall into the following categories:
1. The Invasion and Destruction of Belgium in 1914: Arguably the worst of the atrocities was centered around the invasion of Belgium by German troops. The invasion itself constituted the first open hostilities of the Western Front and insured that France and Britain would fight. Along with it came destruction of towns and mass killings as the German Army had intended to pass through quickly and not be bothered by local resistance. The more resistance they encountered the more reprisals they took.
2. Deportation and Forced Labor: Germany forced the deportation of Belgian nationals to Germany for slave labor. Even the American government, although technically neutral, decried the usage of forced labor as early as 1916.
3. Atrocities against civilians in occupied France: Forced labor was extended to occupied portions of France along with excessive destruction and execution outside of justice.
4. Mistreatment of prisoners: Allegations of mistreatment of prisoners of war were levied against the German Army that included inadequate food, harsh prison conditions, physical abuses, and forced labor.
5. Unrestricted submarine warfare: Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare in February, 1915, but that changed on May 7, 1915, when a German submarine torpedoed and sank RMS Lusitania, a passenger ship. Allegedly, the ship was carrying ammunition to Britain, but 128 American passengers were killed prompting a rebuke from U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s administration. Germany apologized, provided compensation to the families of the Americans, and ceased unrestricted submarine warfare attacking only ships that appeared to be bringing cargo to Britain. As it appeared that Germany would lose the war in January, 1917, unrestricted submarine warfare was resumed, upon the Kaiser’s approval.
The End of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles: Wilhelm’s power decline accelerated during the last months of the war. Woodrow Wilson said that the monarchy in Germany must fall before peace could take place, but Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands, a neutral country, where he was protected in sanctuary. An armistice in November, 1918, ended hostilities, but led to the Treaty of Versailles that favored the Allies—a peace without surrender. The Treaty contained language in Article 227, that accused Wilhelm II of “supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties” and demanded him to be tried by a special international tribunal for war crimes. But just how guilty could he have been if he didn’t authorize the conduct of military activities during the war that led to atrocities. He none-the-less was Germany’s head of state and therefore responsible for the declarations of war and the invasion of Belgium that began hostilities with France and Britain. The Treaty of Versailles was driven by the combatants on the Western Front as Russia had sued for a separate peace after the Czar was overthrown in 1917.
Conclusions: The Treaty of Versailles was virtually dictated to the Germans and the terms were far harsher than may have been expected since Germany did not surrender. The casualties were appalling on both sides, but were particularly acute for the French and the British who can thank their generals for some major military blunders on their part. Their political efforts at Versailles were more of retribution than a seeking of peace, including blaming and punishing Kaiser Wilhelm II for the entire experience. This was simple enough for them to accomplish as it was Germany that attacked Belgium first (there was some minor skirmishing early along the French border notwithstanding). The whole issue of his responsibility is extremely complicated, but it boiled down to who started the war—itself a complicated issue. Wilhelm agreed to a limited conflict in the Balkans involving his ally Austria versus Serbia and Russia. Czar Nicholas also foresaw a war in the Balkans, but called for a complete mobilization when his military told him that the partial mobilization he requested would be impossible. I have a difficult time believing that a partial mobilization in Russia would have been impossible—difficult perhaps, but not impossible. Then what happens next is the Czar extending his military to its full limit that could in the eyes of Wilhelm include an attack on Germany requiring its complete mobilization also. It is with this act by the Czar that a Balkan’s war quickly within a few days’ time morphed into a world war. The Czar cannot be blamed for the entire war either, but he should have played his hand better than he did considering the only real help he could give Serbia was to attack Austria as there was no open border he could cross to reach Serbia without first going through Austria. Wilhelm never left the Netherlands having lived there from 1918 to his death in 1941.
Sources: Why Kaiser Wilhelm Was Never Tried for Starting World War I, by Erin Blakemore, History.com. June 28, 2019.
Wikipedia, Wilhelm II.
ChatGPT.
I learned a lot not only about the WWI narrative, but also about the complexities.