Changes

Germany grew rapidly in industrial and economic power, matching Britain by 1900.  Its highly professional army was the best in the world, but the navy could never catch up with Britain's Royal Navy.

Germany grew rapidly in industrial and economic power, matching Britain by 1900.  Its highly professional army was the best in the world, but the navy could never catch up with Britain's Royal Navy.

In 1888, the young and ambitious [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] became emperor. He could not abide advice, least of all from the most experiencesd politician and diplomat in Europe, so he fired Bismarck. The Kaiser opposed Bismarck's careful foreign policy and wanted Germany to pursue colonialist policies, as Britain and France had been doing for decades, as well as build a navy that could match the British.  The Kaiser promoted active colonization of Africa and Asia for those areas that were not already colonies of other European powers; his record was notoriously brutal and set the stage for genocide. The Kaiser took a mostly unilateral approach in Europe with as main ally the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and an arms race with Britain, which eventually led to the situation in which the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian crown price could spark off [[World War I]].

In 1888, the young and ambitious [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] became emperor. He could not abide advice, least of all from the most experiencesd politician and diplomat in Europe, so he fired Bismarck. The Kaiser opposed Bismarck's careful foreign policy and wanted Germany to pursue colonialist policies, as Britain and France had been doing for decades, as well as build a navy that could match the British.  The Kaiser promoted active colonization of Africa and Asia for those areas that were not already colonies of other European powers; his record was notoriously brutal and set the stage for genocide. The Kaiser took a mostly [[unilateral]] approach in Europe with as main ally the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and an arms race with Britain, which eventually led to the situation in which the assassination of the Austrian-Hungarian crown price could spark off [[World War I]].

==World War I==

==World War I==