First World War.com - Vintage Video - Kaiser Wilhelm II Meets With His Generals, 1914

First World War.com - A multimedia history of world war one

Kaiser Wilhelm II Vintage Video: Kaiser Wilhelm II Meets With His Generals, 1914
Updated - Saturday, 22 November, 2003

With the outbreak of war in Europe at the start of August 1914 - Germany rapidly found herself at war with Russia, France and Britain - the German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, instructed his military high command to set into motion her war plans.

Although his public resolve was firm the Kaiser was in private alarmed at the turn of events; until the very end he had hoped to avoid a general war; and while he had clearly envisaged the prospect of war with France and Russia, he was perturbed and angered by Britain's reaction in defence of neutral Belgium (and to a lesser extent, France).

Click here to view footage of the Kaiser meeting his generals once war had been declared in August 1914 (Windows Media, 17 seconds, 219KB).

A "conchie" was slang used to refer to a conscientious objector.