Contents
page x xv xxii
List of illustrations Preface to the English edition Preface to the German edition
1 Death and transfiguration 2 The Kaiser and England during the Boer War 3 ‘I am the balance of power in Europe.’ Wilhelm between Britain, Russia and France 4 The Boxer Rebellion and the Baghdad railway 5 The shabby compromise: Wilhelm II and Bu¨low’s Chancellorship 6 Wilhelm II and the Germans, 1900 to 1904 7 ‘We two make history and destiny is in our hands!’ Kaiser and Tsar on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War 8 The Anglo-German antagonism: the Kaiser, the King and public opinion 9 The Kaiser and America 10 Uncle and nephew: Edward VII and the ‘encirclement’ of Germany 11 East Asia in flames: the Russo-Japanese War and its consequences 12 Operational plans for a war in western Europe 13 ‘Paris must get one in the eye from us one day!’ The Kaiser and the first Morocco crisis 14 ‘A turning-point in the history of Europe’ or the fiasco of Bjo¨rko¨ vii
1 18 48 73 96 127 163 190 212 245 263 294 329 354