KGBeast
Banned
Let us assume that when Wilhelm I died on 1890 his successor Freidrich III does not do so a short time later and we do not have the intractability of ideas that Bismarck would soon have with Wilhelm II. With this in mind Otto Von Bismarck can merrily continue shaping German policy until his death a decade later. IMO this 10 year interval was the most important time period in German history that played a pivotal role in the outbreak of WWI. From Wilhelm's obsession with being a naval rival to GB that led to the naval arms race that nearly bankrupted Germany and diverted resources from the army where it was more important, the decision to let the defensive treaty with Russia lapse forcing them onto the hands of the French to interfering with GB's commercial zones of influence. IMO there is no great war if Bismarck is not unsurrententiously fired. He would have had the foresight to extend the treaty with Russia and possible added England in the mix as well. A France alone with no allies would have been very easy pickings if/when hostilities started up again.