Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898) was a German prime minister (1871–1890) famous for his political genius. In carrying out his duties, he had the principle that Germany only needed to stabilize foreign policy. He did not intend to expand.
However, when Germany was led by Kaiser Wilhelm II, things changed. Kaiser Wilhelm II had a different view from Bismarck, so he slowly tried to reduce Bismarck's political power.
Kaiser Wilhelm II aspired to militarize Germany, a goal that conflicted with Bismarck's cautious approach. Despite Bismarck's repeated reminders to exercise restraint, ongoing disputes ultimately led to his resignation in 1890. With Bismarck's departure, Kaiser Wilhelm II found greater freedom to pursue his militaristic ambitions.
In 1893, three years after Bismarck resigned, he predicted,
“Twenty years from now, European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans.”
He only missed one year.
In 1914, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austro-Hungary by Gravilo Princip, a Serbian nationalist, sparked a war between Austro-Hungary and Serbia. And again, he was correct —Serbia was part of Balkan peninsula. War did not only occur between the two of them. Signed agreements between European countries before, forced them to join the war as well.
World War I happened.
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