Changes

Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with an elected parliament, or Reichstag. However, the Kaiser had the final say on all significant matters, including appointments.<ref name=rohl18>Röhl, John C. G., [https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941] Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. xxviii.</ref> His supporters boasted that he was the "mightiest ruler on earth."<ref name=rohl17>Röhl, p. xxvii.</ref> His views were particularly influential in foreign affairs and on matters of war and peace.

Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with an elected parliament, or Reichstag. However, the Kaiser had the final say on all significant matters, including appointments.<ref name=rohl18>Röhl, John C. G., [https://books.google.com/books?id=FN9GAgAAQBAJ&dq= Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941] Cambridge University Press, 2014, p. xxviii.</ref> His supporters boasted that he was the "mightiest ruler on earth."<ref name=rohl17>Röhl, p. xxvii.</ref> His views were particularly influential in foreign affairs and on matters of war and peace.

In August 1914, Wilhelm ordered the German army to invade France, triggering [[World War I]]. The Allied Powers of France, Russia, and Britain opposed this aggression. For several years, fighting remained deadlocked as trench warfare continued across northern France. In early 1917, effective control of German policy passed to General Ludendorff, a supporter of "total war," including unrestricted submarine warfare. When German submarines blockaded Britain and attacked neutral shipping, the United States declared war on Germany. In November 1918, the war ended in a catastrophic defeat for Germany. By that time, over 4.2 million Germans had been killed. Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands and lived in exile until 1941.

In August 1914, Wilhelm ordered the German army to invade France, triggering [[World War I]]. The Allied Powers of France, Russia, and Britain opposed this aggression. For several years, fighting remained deadlocked as trench warfare continued across northern France. In early 1917, effective control of German policy passed to General Ludendorff, an advocate of total war, including unrestricted submarine warfare.<ref>Ludendorff, Erich, ''Der totale Krieg,'' München, Ludendorffs Verlag, g.m.b.h., 1935.</ref> When German submarines blockaded Britain and attacked neutral shipping, the United States declared war on Germany. In November 1918, the war ended in a catastrophic defeat for Germany. By that time, over 4.2 million Germans had been killed. Wilhelm fled to the Netherlands and lived in exile until 1941.

===Personality and policies===

===Personality and policies===