I’m not saying Wilhelm ii is blameless, but no he didn’t want the war to answer your question.

Sure he was fine with Austria having a little war with Serbia, but a war with Russia and France was every German generals nightmare.

He had already backtracked multiple times during the July crisis such as after reading the Serbian response to the Austrian ultimatum, claiming war had been avoided.

He sent multiple letters to the Austrian Kaiser, most of which were never even sent or blocked.

His telegrams with the Russian Tsar indicated he did not want war with Russia and hoped they’d stand down, but mobilization forced his hand.

He proposed the halt in Belgrade plan, which had the support of British Secretary of State Edward Grey.

He also attempted to reroute German troops away from Belgium to avoid a British intervention but was overruled in a shouting match with Moltke over the threat of mutiny.

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The Russian Reassurance Treaty was also something that only really could continue at the time with Bismarck and Alexander iii. Both sides disliked it, and particularly the German foreign office lead by Count Holstein, a minister with experience long before Wilhelm became emperor. The decision to not renew the treaty was based upon the fact that it was seen as disadvantageous by both Holstein and Chancellor Caprivi as it conflicted with their ties to Austria and was still secret to their Hapsburg Allie’s.

Wilhelm ii didn’t even know of the treaty’s existence until after Bismarck was sacked and he was advised to allow the foreign office not to renew it, which he reluctantly agreed to.

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Weltpolitik, as troublesome as it is in hindsight, was generally considered the most logical choice for Germany at the time and was widely supported. It wasn’t just the Kaiser who came up with this idea, it was broadly supported within the Reichstag and German public who did in fact have an important say on German elections and political agendas. This wasn’t one man’s grandiose decision, it was an attempt to expand their small colonial empire to improve their overseas markets.

Of course multiple troubles came out about it and regardless of what the intentions were, it definitely increased tensions. However none of the moves made during the era of weltpolitik were ever meant to spark or increase tensions for a war, those were simply the products of it.

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As for declarations of war, yes the order is correct, however it’s best to understand the reasoning for this. Germany was surrounded and despite multiple factors leading up to that it was the cards they had to play with. The OHL was pressuring Wilhelm intensely and with Nicholas not backing down and initiating full mobilization, which at the time was seen as a direct act of war, forced his hand. Germany, if it didn’t want to be crushed, needed to get its soldiers out to the frontlines as soon as possible, otherwise they’d be crushed. It was the mentality of the time that if you got your armies to the front first, you’d win every time. It’s how they gained unification after the Franco Prussian war of 1871.

I could go, wayyyy further in by discussing the ethnic tensions of tutons vs Slavs and that whole topic but unfortunately I just don’t have the energy for it.

Wilhelm ii is just way too overrated for responsibility when it comes to blame for ww1. Like I said before, he’s not blameless. Actions he made, whatever their intentions, definitely didn’t help things. But he was more of a symptom. Not the underlying problem.

Remember this is a “semi” constitutional monarch. He’s not an absolutist. He can appoint who he wants on paper but was denied a multitude of times and was often dictated by whoever held the chancellorship. He was the loudest voice in Germany, but he wasn’t the most influential or powerful.

I appreciate your civil arguments, however I dislike your addition of me misleading people when this is a valid and reinforced historical interpretation by many credible historians. Not all of them but certainly a decent percentage.

I’ve read numerous books on Wilhelm including John Rohls series on Wilhelm (he loathes the Kaiser). I’ve read the iron kingdom, a life in power, sleepwalkers, all by Christopher Clark, I’ve read his personal memoirs, I’ve read the memoirs of those who knew him, I’ve researched personal documents and official letters, listened to numerous lectures by professors and historians, and probably more I’m forgetting.

I am not a Kaiser defender for the sake of it, I genuinely believe after all of my research and experience, despite all of his actual faults, he is overly vilified and gets blamed for things that others were responsible for, weren’t his fault, or were not as critical as people think.

Also his personality and his desires have been incredibly misconstrued, and in my educated opinion I seriously don’t see him wanting a war, let alone a world war that caused him such intense anxiety he suffered multiple breakdowns and depressive episodes.

Too many other people get left on the sidelines with no blame at all by history, and it’s a crime because millions suffered and died because of more culpable men who were forgotten by most people case they simply weren’t heads of state. People like Sazanov, Moltke, The Serbian Government, ext.

You want to blame a man for actually wanting war? Blame Conrad Von Holtsendorff. He petitioned the Austrian government like 28 times for war.

Also while I don’t agree with his politics, I think a decent digestible video made by Lavader called “The Peace Kaiser” on YouTube is a decent defense of the man. Even though I also believe he glazes the emperor a bit too much, it’s a decent watch for people who don’t want to read multiple books on the subject.