Wasn't Totally happy with the structure and wanted to more focus on the world building through the use of quotes and 'Wikiboxes'. I have updated some of the paragaphs as well as adding Wikiboxes to the Chapters.
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[Prologue]
“I will admit that I was on duty when the incident occurred but I will not be held accountable for the passing of Emperor Wilhelm – for the record I was on the other side of the Hunting Lodge on patrol when we received the news. What I saw was the Emperor lying on the cold stone slabs in the rear of the lodge with a visible head wound. There were only a few people to witness the event – all of them telling us that he had slipped following an argument with the witnessing ministers. If it wasn’t for the two guards in the adjacent room the Emperor would have been lost right there on the floor, though as we know it wasn’t enough to save him. There is still a part of me who is still sceptical over the situation. Granted it might have been shock on the minister’s faces but there was not one I could firmly say I would trust without a doubt about the situation.” – Former Imperial Bodyguard Dietrich Bayer talking to the BBC following the release of document depicting the events of September 24th 1906.
Was it an accident or something more sinister? – The death of the German Emperor Wilhelm II on September 24th 1906 brought a vast amount of questions to the German people, many of whom were shocked at the sudden turn of events. The official German response was that the Emperor became suddenly ill during his hunting trip in the Rominten Hunting lodge in East Prussia however many were less inclined to believe the response. Vicious rumours surrounding the Emperor’s death increased in the following weeks – many suggesting that considering the reports of arguments between Wilhelm II and his chancellor von Bulow foul play may have been involved. Regardless of the truth behind Wilhelm’s death it would be his son, Wilhelm III, who would be next to take the throne. It would be Wilhelm III whose differing views to that of his father would change the situation of the German Empire.
[Chapter I: 1906-1908]
Part One: The New Kaiser
“Let us hope that he is not his father’s son” – Henry Campbell-Bannerman, In reference to the coronation of German Emperor Wilhelm III, November 16th 1906.
The Emperor’s Vision [1906-08]
It wouldn’t be surprising to understand Wilhelm’s shock at the death of his father – though there was not always a mutual understanding between each other he had lost his father. Wilhelm did not even consider himself ready to take on the position as Emperor of Germany as he was much more interested in focusing on his military career though short as it was. He had inherited the throne at a time when European tensions were increasing something that the Young Emperor needed to consider when conducting his reign. Though even before he was coronated on November 16th there were signs of his policies as he seemed more openly welcome to the British Royalty and dignitaries above those from France or Russia.
Though this could easily be a sign of how his policy against the Franco-Russian Alliance. The alliance was of real concern to Wilhelm III, whose nation was sandwiched between two mighty empires even with their faults. To make matters worse Britain was growing closer towards the Alliance. Obviously Wilhelm was doubtful that they could even bring the British Empire into an Alliance type system as they had with Austro-Hungary but there was a will – especially by that of the Emperor – for actions to be taken to repair the rift his father had created. A major point of this view was the idea of the slowdown between the British and German Kaiserliche Marine] Navies. It was the arms race between the two nations which had created tension between the two nations as well as not helping the global view point of a Militaristic Germany arming themselves. Wilhelm wanted to show – at least to Britain that they did not have anything to fear from the nation. The problem for Wilhelm if he attempted any changes to the Germany Navy would its fanatical defender Alfred von Tirpitz. The problem to the Emperor’s problem would come in the change of Germany’s political leadership. Von Bulow was the German Chancellor during Wilhelm II’s reign. However he had experienced several heath issues such as a heart attack which occurred following a debate at the Reichstag after the Moroccan incident. It would be his ill health and an un-needed political scandal which finally gave the excuse Wilhelm needed to replace him.
Wilhelm replaced von Bulow with von Bethmann-Hollweg. Wilhelm found a minister who shared his views of relaxing tensions with Britain. Bethmann-Hollweg would work closely with his British counterpart Edward Grey, Sir to help heal wounds inflicted by Wilhelm II. Much of his time however would be dealing with the inner workings of the Reichstag, shifting support away from the members of influence within the Admiralty such as Tirpitz and to those who were more inline of Wilhelm’s ideals. The reaction from some in the Reichstag was fearful of what Germany was trying to be – that many felt that Germany was only trying to settle for second place compared to Britain though Bethmann-Hollweg made it adamant that Wilhelm wanted to focus on Europe rather than a vast global empire. What helped Bethmann-Hollweg was his connection to Wilhelm III whom attempted to command the Reichstag, making sure that his plans were heard. He had to live through his father’s choices which had caused much argument in their relationship. Bethmann-Hollweg used this to push members who didn’t agree with him outside either the central government or the ‘inner circle’ which continued to grow his support alongside the Emperor’s trust of him.
Germany and Britain [1908]
The ‘Détente’ would culminate in the 1908 state visit of Wilhelm III to Britain were he would meet the British King Edward VII and Prime Minister H.H Asquith as well as take part in witnessing the Olympics held in London. This was another attempt by that of the Emperor to show Germany’s more cultural side rather than it’s militaristic – once again in attempt to sway British Public – and possible Governmental figures - opinion to viewing Germany in a more positive light. Obviously the trip too Britain was totally the plan of the Emperor but also that of the Chancellor who could be seen to have carefully organise the trip. The visit would have another curious effect and that would be the creation of the Wilhelm-Edward Cup. Simply put it was a Friendly International Game of football between the UK and Germany in the spirit of Friendship. With the first competition occurring in 1909 it would be used by both nations as a culture exchange, allowing people to meet. The creation of the game had heavy influence by that of Wilhelm who enjoyed the game although for the first few games his nation would be disappointing with the UK [England] beating Germany 2-0 in the first game. Overall the state visit was incredibly positive for the Germany relations with Britain, with the nation’s newspapers also looking favourably on the visit. King Edward VII himself would also seem somewhat taken back by the new Emperor, who may have been guided not to invoke the same reactions as his father.

The relationship between the Germany and Britain was not unseen by many in the world especially that of France. France was worried about the political situation between the two countries, worried about an alliance between Germany and Britain would overshadow the Entente Cordiale signed between France and Britain in 1904. Grumblings within the French government came under the suspicion that Britain had never had any intention of keeping to the agreement. This was further aggravated with several agreements that between Germany and Britain concerning colonial borders such as between British and German East Africa in late 1908 following improved correspondence between Bethmann-Hollweg and Sir Edward Grey. Although no-one dared to openly denounce this to the British as they didn’t want to damage the Entente Cordiale themselves there was a significant growth in weariness within the French Government. What they did have on their side was the support of the British people at the time, with 6-7 Million people who visited the Franco-British Exhibition in May 1908. It for the time at least showed some willingness by the British people to keep to peace between the two nations.
Another nation Russia was somewhat more concerned with Germany than that of its relationship with Britain.Russia had just signed a treaty with Britain whose purpose was to end the great game in Asia between the two Empire and Russia failed to believe that Britain would turn its back on the treaty so soon. Although weary of the German apparent hand of friendship with Britain the Russian Tsar was happy to see the moves by Germany seemingly as a peaceful gesture – whether or not they truly believed it. Tsar Nicholas II’s letters would show that a part of him was happy that the family of Victoria was getting along. The Russian Empire’s main focus apart from trying to contain German influence was trying to prop itself up. Their defeat against Japan had serious shown weakness in their Army and ability to defend its nation and win wars. Ontop of that they had serious socio-economic issues that plagued it internally. Even worse the Austrian-Hungarian Empire was looking into the Balkans thus to the Russians it was damaging to their power.
“Please don’t fall into the German spider’s web – Please don’t spring their trap.” –Private letter fromformer French President Émile Loubet to British Prime Minister H.H Asquith, 1908
The Bosnian Crisis [1908]
1908 would also have other events occurring across Europe with Bulgaria establishing its independence from the Ottoman’s in October as well as the Bosnian Crisis which created a first real test of the new Ruler ship of Germany. Sparked by Bulgaria the Austria-Hungarian Empire moved into Bosnia in their attempts to annex it into their Empire which created a diplomatic – chiefly by that of Russia who deemed it a violation of the Treaty of Berlin. For the most part Germany stayed back allowing the other sides of the crisis to show themselves. France moved towards Russia as did Italy – although Britain would eventually wade in, pulling away French support from the Russians. Germany used this opportunity to not only show support for Britain against Russia, but to also support the Bulgarians as a nation, with many historians likening Bulgaria to Germany’s Serbia. The crisis would create a rift between the Austria-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire further increasing the tension on the continent. Austria-Hungary also broke down the system of Alliance between them and Italy, who felt like their imperial demands were being ignored by the Austro-Hungarian’s. It also damaged the Anglo-French relationship – though not to anywhere near the levels of the Austro-Russian relationship – with the French Government slowly becoming more annoyed at the so called “English Arrogance”, that they seemed to dictate the continent. This only sought to aggravate the faction within the French Government who didn’t trust the British agreements. This was something Wilhelm enjoyed and encouraged – using the chaotic situation to slowly pull Britain closer into Germany.
“Being completely honest – it was scared. Once the Bulgarians stood up to the Turks it felt like things were going to collapse one after another as the Austrians moved into Bosnia. Some fool hearted republican even used the situation as the time they decided to shoot at the Portuguese king of all times! Luckily he missed or we could have another civil war in Europe on our hands, ready for some nation to exploit no doubt. Just another few days of debating semantics with these politicians and I’ll be able to go back home. I can’t wait to leave this powder keg of a continent; I just miss the peace of home.” – Journal entry of Thomas Muller, reporter for New York Times covering the Bosnian Conference, 1909
[Chapter I: 1906-1908]
Part Two: Trouble in Lisbon
“Republicanism has reared its ugly head” – Prince Luis Filipe, October 16th 1908
Assassination [1908]
By late 1908 Portugal had been on the side-lines. Many in the nation felt that they’re future was not under the control of themselves – with their colonial ambitions controlled by that of Britain in the previous century, furthermore many in the Republican sphere held a fear of Spain muscling in on their sovereignty. It would be in October when the Republicans would make their first move in the attempts to gain back control of their country from the oppressive Monarchical government. They already saw themselves in the unofficial control over the nation with large power bases in Portugal’s main cities such as Lisbon and Porto – and they wanted it to become official.
October 15th would become infamous within Portugal with the near assassination of King Carlos and Prince Luis Filipe. With the Balkan issues of 1908 hot in the minds of the public there had been talks within the Government concerning whether or not Portugal would push for a place within the conference. Just as King Carlos left from a meeting with the Portuguese Government along with his son considering the current situation in their nation and the Balkans three shots flew at the King and his entourage. Two of the bullets missed their targets hitting the waiting carriage for the King; the third however struck the King in the arm. As the many rushed to the aid of the King Carlos, those entrusted to guard the Royal Family fired back into the direction of the attackers. One of the Assassins, Alfredo Costa, would die in the gunfire while his accomplice Manuel Buica would be injured by a stray bullet and arrested by the Lisbon Police. Along with the Alfredo Costa two bystanders would lie on the on the Lisbon pavement both shot either by the Royal Guards or the Assassins during the gunfight though most of the Lisbon had already pointed their fingers on the careless retaliation by the Guards.
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The attempted Murder of two Gentlemen of the Order of the Garter along with the apparent indifference by the Portuguese people is most concerning!” –
King Edward VII following the attempted Assassination, October 16th 1908

This was the second major attempted by members of Portugal’s Republican movement to remove the Monarchy, they had missed their first attempt in Early 1908 and pressures from both their backers and supports forced them to attempt the assassination much earlier than the assassins liked. It would be this pressure which formed the poor attempt compared to their careful planning of the attempted attack in 1908 – which was only foiled due to back luck on the attacker’s behalf. The world reaction was one of shock – especially amongst those with Monarchical regime. The event though was an issue for Portugal although small sectors of Portuguese Republican movement cheered claiming this was one step into a Portuguese revolution, the most were quite on the matter worried about the political reprisals. It would be to no surprise that by December 1908 there was a surge in the amount of crack downs by the Portuguese Police sectors of the Republican movement with the Portuguese Prime Minister Joao Franco pushing hard to stop any more attempts on the Royal Families life. The sudden attack of the Royal family offered the Monarchy some initial sympathy even within the Republican movement – though this may have been many trying to distance themselves from the extremists. Although it has to be mentioned that the policies implemented by that of Franco would soon end this period of peace between the two groups following attempted Assassination.
[Chapter II: 1909-1911]
Part One: A Much Better Relationship
“I’m certain that my Grandmother would delighted to see Britain rekindle the relationship with our German Family” – King George V’s Journal, 20th November 1911
An Anglo-German Friendship [1909-11]
With the Balkan Crisis of 1908 the Great Powers of Europe could have a sigh of relief – at least for the moment. The conclusion would be seen as a victory for the Germans as they had helped their ally, Austria-Hungary, in defending land which they believed was rightfully theirs from the Russian Tsar. Although the Crisis did come at the cost of a strained relationship with the Trio of France, Russia and Italy all whom at some point attempted to fight against the Austro-Hungarian claims. Although the German people had seen this as a victory the German Government was willing to back down to agree to concessions or the Austrians, with Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg unwilling to put too much pressure on the powers of Europe for what he considered a marginal claim. The Crisis also, much to the delight of Bethmann-Hollweg, allowed Germany to move closer to that of Britain via their support of Britain once they moved into the talks on Bosnia. Even more so it gave them further access to the discussions of Britain as they hosted the talks in Berlin. For Wilhelm it was massive step forward. Even further afield in the United States the new President William Howard Taft would approve of the Emperor, praising for his commitment for ensuing Peace in Europe
However there were still rumblings in the German Government, with those whom were seen to be still stuck in the old regime showing their distaste for the new system. Many felt that Wilhelm was actively ignoring the Navy with members such as von Tirpitz angry that his vision of German Navy supremacy was being scrapped in favour of friendship of which is Navy was created to counter. His fanatical rants only served to further distance the Emperor from him. Wilhelm never wanted to ignore the Navy, if anything he enjoyed the idea of a strong naval force he just didn’t want to create an enemy while doing so. The constant bothering from the German Admirals were slowly starting to grind on him. Even attempts by Wilhelm to offer the idea of a treaty between Germany and Britain on the navy was rejected by the Navy stating that Germany should build its Navy as Germany dictates rather than on Britain’s wishes. Regardless Wilhelm, with the help of Bethmann-Hollweg and his relationship with Sir Edward Grey in Britain, pushed forward the 1910 Anglo-German Naval Treaty which affirmed the size of the nation’s navies in relation to each other. It allowed German some room to build more ships under the pretence that they were required to help manage Germany’s spread out empire.
The growth of the Anglo-German relationship continued even following the death of Edward VII in 1910 with the Emperor taking the opportunity to once again visit Britain for the Kings Funeral and coronation of King George V in 1911. The relationship can also seem to have helped H.H Asquith and the Liberal party somewhat with the Liberal party gaining support as many saw them as helping to reduce the tension although it is also difficult to see how much that had affected it. Cultural Games which had been created the year prior continued with the Edward-Wilhelm Cup continuing with King Edward’s name out of respect following his death. In both 1910 and 1911 Germany would once again loose to the British Team which would be a disappointment to many Germans helping to inspire an over hall of the German FA. The Emperor would invite the King to hunting at his various hunting lodges though this would only occur once in the years 1910/1911 due to the Kings diplomatic restrictions. King George would be noted to have followed his father’s appreciation of the Emperor’s attempts to mend the damage that Wilhelm II had done much to the dismay of the French.
Imperial Treaty [1910]
Overall the relationship between the two empires would lead to what would be referred to as the Imperial Treaty, signed in Berlin 1910, which would develop over time. It was useful to both nations, it allowed Britain to keep in check the imperial ambitions of Germany both colonially and militarily while allowing Germany to keep Britain close as a defence against France or Russia. Even then Britain had a strong relationship with both Russia and France which to Germany was an extra layer of defence against an attack. The treaties affirmed Britain’s commitments to the protection of several smaller states such as Belgium while continuing to cement the colonial borders. It looked at an agreement to the building of an international railway along the eastern Spine of Africa through German and British controlled lands. To the British Prime Minister this was an attempt to create an era of peace within Europe as it would bind the Great Powers of Europe to each other further. The changing of the relationships in Europe was continued to be tested and strained following the signing of the treaty with problems occurring in Portugal casting a shadow across Europe. Wilhelm was certainly delighted by the Imperial Treaty, as he felt that it gave him backing to fully develop his nation’s military to counter that of the Russians without having Britain to fear in combination with France. The Imperial treaty would bring Europe into an odd situation has it effectively put one nation in the crossroads of two different alliance systems.
The reaction of the Treaty within Great Britain was for the most part a neither a strong support nor strong upset. Most people had grown tired of the meandering of Alliances within Europe and were happier to focus on British values and British expansion. Though what many did enjoy was a similar situation to what happened following the Entente Cordiale with a Anglo-German cultural exhibition which propped up in late 1911 in time for Christmas attracting around 5 million visitors while it was on. By most reports the Anglo-German exhibition was a lot less impressive than the Franco-British in 1908 however that was down mostly to the short amount of time in which they had to prepare it.
“It would appear that your cousin has been ensnared by the allure of the young Emperor” – Letter from French President Armand Falliéres to Tsar Nicholas II [Letter publically disclosed 1995]
Germany and Austria-Hungary [1910-11]
Britain wasn’t the only nation that Germany was trying to court. It continued its relationship with Austria-Hungary viewing the nations as important when counter-balancing Russia and France. It would appear quickly more important following the fall in relations with Italy whom was considerably annoyed by Austria-Hungary’s actions against Bosnia in 1908. Although Austria didn’t share German attempts to persuade them to update their military in a similar direction to that of Germany. Austria-Hungary looked more to cement its power in the Balkans and vast ethnic empire with only minor reforms such as the updating to small arms being considered. Germany had been slowly but steadily updating it’s military in accordance to the changes occurring in Russia, not wanting to be outdone by that of the Russian Empire. It must be said that military developments occurring in Germany were not un-noticed by that of the rest of Europe namely that of France. Although there were not any open or official responses condemning German there is an obvious growth of discontent within the French Government and public eye.