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→German Emperor vs. Emperor of Germany
::::::::Then, and not to be pedantic, there is somewhat of a difference in understanding between what a Commander-in-Chief is in US parlance, and who the Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian Army is. (btw, is the Queen the Commander-in-Chief in Britain?) [[User:RobSmith|RobS]]<sup>[[User talk:RobSmith|''#NeverHillary'']]</sup> 23:48, 2 June 2016 (EDT)
::::::::Then, and not to be pedantic, there is somewhat of a difference in understanding between what a Commander-in-Chief is in US parlance, and who the Commander-in-Chief of the Prussian Army is. (btw, is the Queen the Commander-in-Chief in Britain?) [[User:RobSmith|RobS]]<sup>[[User talk:RobSmith|''#NeverHillary'']]</sup> 23:48, 2 June 2016 (EDT)
:::::::::I don't go into anything speculative in the article, but IMO the German General Staff was the driving force behind the war. Perhaps this was due to the influence of Ludendorff, AKA "the first Nazi."[https://www.amazon.com/First-Nazi-Ludendorff-Hitler-Possible] For a long time, the German military archive was believed to have been destroyed by firebombing in 1945. But material turned up at the end of the Cold War. A few historians have looked through it, but no one focusing on the question, "Why was the General Staff so eager for war in 1914?" [[User:PeterKa|PeterKa]] ([[User talk:PeterKa|talk]]) 01:24, 3 June 2016 (EDT)
:::::::::I don't go into anything speculative in the article, but IMO the German General Staff was the driving force behind the war. Perhaps this was due to the influence of Ludendorff, AKA "the first Nazi."[https://www.amazon.com/First-Nazi-Ludendorff-Hitler-Possible] For a long time, the German military archive was believed to have been destroyed by firebombing in 1945. But material turned up at the end of the Cold War. A few historians have looked through it, but no one focusing on the question, "Why was the General Staff so eager for war in 1914?" [[User:PeterKa|PeterKa]] ([[User talk:PeterKa|talk]]) 01:24, 3 June 2016 (EDT)
::::::::::Looking at your sources, I guess I need to be brought up to speed on a new school of thought among German historians in modern democratic Germany that's way more critical of the monarch. I base my understanding [https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Politics_of_the_Prussian_Army_1640_1.html?id=W0Tmwq5gvYwC on Gordan Craig, who's very respected], and I'm sure, not outdated. But yes, the Kaiser, and before that, the Prussian Kings, really did not have the power often imputed to them. The Prussian military really did have a mind of its own. Even today, the Russian GRU, which is modeled after the Prussian military, survived regime change from the Soviet era. Also, the German Chancellor is not the Commander-in-Chief to this day, as [https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjV_6G6vYzNAhUJ4mMKHZimDVwQFgg2MAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dtic.mil%2Fdtic%2Ftr%2Ffulltext%2Fu2%2Fa249255.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEoV9V2FCgEC8juWUEOz2CWecFDVQ&sig2=E4RlBlzlsYn9PolM1WzUVg the German General Staff was brought under NATO's command structure], not the German government. What little power the Kaiser really had over the military & foreign ministry, he lost as the war progressed.
::::::::::Even Hitler did not really have the power over the German military often imagined; that is what Operation Valkyrie and the trials and events afterward were all about.
::::::::::Suffice it to say, for the Kaiser's bluster for decades leading up to the war, when the actual events of July 1914 are looked at, he really didn't want war and tried to avert it; but as this article points out, the decision by others (and not really on a time table, tho) was made in 1912 if a certain series of events were to occur.
::::::::::So, if the opening section could be tweaked to make him look a little less like a brain-dead war monger, I suggest in all fairness it would be a little more accurate. The Kaiser was not an absolute dictator. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]]<sup>[[User talk:RobSmith|''#NeverHillary'']]</sup> 14:37, 3 June 2016 (EDT)
''[[World War I]] began in August 1914 with a massive German invasion of France by way of Belgium. The Allied Powers of France, Russia, and Britain opposed this aggression.'' This ignores the whole "crisis of July" - and the fact that Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia in late July 1914: this was the ''aggression'' which Russia opposed, by general mobilization against Austria and Germany - which lead to the declaration of war from Germany to Russia on August 1, 1914 - three days before the invasion of Belgium. --[[User:AugustO|AugustO]] ([[User talk:AugustO|talk]]) 06:08, 3 June 2016 (EDT)
''[[World War I]] began in August 1914 with a massive German invasion of France by way of Belgium. The Allied Powers of France, Russia, and Britain opposed this aggression.'' This ignores the whole "crisis of July" - and the fact that Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia in late July 1914: this was the ''aggression'' which Russia opposed, by general mobilization against Austria and Germany - which lead to the declaration of war from Germany to Russia on August 1, 1914 - three days before the invasion of Belgium. --[[User:AugustO|AugustO]] ([[User talk:AugustO|talk]]) 06:08, 3 June 2016 (EDT)
:Yes, I agree wholly. There are extremely important lessons to be learned among diplomats and never to be forgotten here. I hope we don't loose the opportunity. WWI was the result of diplomatic failures in Foreign Ministries among all the participants; when they failed, then the War Ministries were called upon to do their jobs. It wasn't directly caused by excessive militarists, more by idiot diplomats. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]]<sup>[[User talk:RobSmith|''#NeverHillary'']]</sup> 14:37, 3 June 2016 (EDT)