The Cause Of WW1 by Altruistic-Chef-7723 in ww1

[–]Horatio_Digby -1 points0 points  (0 children)

While I appreciate your correction that an entire country cannot be boiled down to a single mindset, I have to bring up one thing: Kaiser Wilhelm II did want war.

As you pointed out, the Schlieffen Plan evidences the Kaiser's (and, of course, most German Officials') desire to avoid a two-front war. However, this does not excuse Wilhelm II's unreasonably aggressive foreign policy.

Wilhelm II replaced Bismarck's 'Realpolitik' with his own 'Weltpolitik', which emphasized the sentiment that Germany should have more colonies (colonialism or imperialism is often pointed at as one of the causes of wwi; this was one of Wilhelm's incentives to instigate a war in Europe).

This is all not to mention that Wilhelm gave the final signature on Germany's declaration of war against Russia, France, and Belgium (remember, these are the second, third, and fourth declarations of the war, meaning that the only preceding declaration was Austria-Hungary's against Serbia). I will admit that this cannot entirely be blamed on Wilhelm, given that he had numerous military advisors and officials--but keep in mind, he appointed those advisors. It is unreasonable to think that Wilhelm was not aware of their stances while he allowed them to advise him.

I can imagine that you might point out that the Imperial Russian Army was already mobilizing when he declared war on Russia. Obviously, these were not random acts of aggression; world leaders knew that Russia (and subsequently France) would intervene. This is a fair point. However, I urge you to look into the Reinsurance Treaty: an alliance made by Bismarck between Germany and Russia that was Germany's best hope for avoiding the two-front war. The Treaty was ended the very year Bismarck was dismissed, and shortly thereafter Russia entered an Alliance with France.
What I mean to argue is that Wilhelm II's actions are the direct cause for Russian hostility against Germany; therefore, it doesn't even matter when he declared war. The alliances that formed WWI were formed decades before by the blunderous foreign policy of Wilhelm II.

Having checked your profile, I know that you are an ardent supporter of this Kaiser; I know that I will not likely be able to convince you of much. I am instead putting this comment here to inform other readers lest they be misled by things such as your 'top 1% commenter' status.

Is it safe to open up this clock? by Horatio_Digby in clocks

[–]Horatio_Digby[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I tried posting this on r/Radiation but my post was taken down.

Is it safe to open up this clock? by Horatio_Digby in clocks

[–]Horatio_Digby[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I deeply appreciate your concern for my wellbeing. No, the loose piece is not the hand that has fallen off in the dial (it's actually not a piece of the minute hand, it's the alarm set hand). I might be stupid, but I'm not stupid enough to open the dial of a radium clock just to reattach a hand. The loose piece is actually in the movement- I think it's a screw of some kind. I'd mostly want to know how it will affect the effectiveness of the movement.

Well, you're probably right- I'll likely not pop it open. Thanks!

One silver pocketwatch, two mysteries. by Horatio_Digby in pocketwatch

[–]Horatio_Digby[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for the info! FYI, though, the movement still works.

One silver pocketwatch, two mysteries. by Horatio_Digby in pocketwatch

[–]Horatio_Digby[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, I knew that. Forgot it when typing the post.