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Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with his ministers and 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 manic depressive personality led to chaotic policymaking.

Wilhelm was a constitutional monarch and shared power with his ministers and 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 manic depressive personality led to chaotic policymaking.

Wilhelm's foreign policy aimed at "Napoleanic supremacy" over France and Russia. In the kaiser's view, Napolean's mistake was to go to war with Britain, something he hoped to avoid. Wilhelm had great enthusiasm for naval matters, and Germany initiated a build up in 1902. This strategy was designed to threaten Britain, an island nation whose sense of security was tied to its naval supremacy. The kaiser wanted Britain to sever its alliance with France. Following the Agadir Crisis in 1911, Wilhelm deemed the naval build up a failure and shifted his focus to the army. German public opinion, long wary of war, swung in favor of the kaiser's militarism. In July 1913, the Reichstag approved army expansion. Meanwhile, the German General Staff adopted the "Schlieffen Plan" to invade France by way of Belgium.  

Wilhelm's foreign policy aimed at "Napoleanic supremacy" over France and Russia. In the kaiser's view, Napolean's mistake was to go to war with Britain, something he hoped to avoid. Wilhelm had great enthusiasm for naval matters, and Germany initiated a build up in 1902. This strategy was designed to threaten Britain, an island nation whose sense of security was tied to its naval supremacy. The kaiser wanted Britain to sever its alliance with France. Following the Agadir Crisis in 1911, Wilhelm deemed the naval build up a failure and shifted his focus to the army. German public opinion, long wary of war, swung in favor of the kaiser's militarism. In July 1913, the Reichstag approved army expansion. The German General Staff, led by Ludendorff, adopted the "Schlieffen Plan" to invade France by way of Belgium. Anxious to take advantage of favorable public opinion while it lasted, Ludendorff and other militarists assured a skeptical kaiser that they could create a pretext for war that would keep Britain out of the conflict.

The planned invasion was launched in 1914, triggering [[World War I]]. By using a Balkan quarrel as his pretext, Wilhelm hoped to discourage involvement by the British, who looked down on the Balkans. This proved to be a miscalculation. The British were outraged by the invasion of neutral Belgium. They responded with a declaration of war against Germany, as well as full military support for the Belgians and French.

The planned invasion was launched in August 1914, triggering [[World War I]]. Although the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in July created a pretext for war, this failed to prevent British involvement. The British were outraged by the invasion of neutral Belgium. They responded with a declaration of war against Germany, as well as full military support for the Belgians and French.

For several years, fighting remained deadlocked as trench warfare continued across northern France. When German submarines blockaded Britain and attacked neutral shipping in 1917, 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.

For several years, fighting remained deadlocked as trench warfare continued across northern France. When German submarines blockaded Britain and attacked neutral shipping in 1917, 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.