Defeat the KAISER and his 9-BOATS

Welcome

After studying the First World War at school, I was left with the overwhelming (albeit naive) impression that the Kaiser was a ‘bad guy’ – no doubt. Years later I, along with many military history enthusiasts, remain fascinated by Wilhelm II – though hopefully I know better than to take an eerie propaganda poster at face value. His role and influence on the course of the war is still the subject of much debate, no less so than with regard to Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare. This issue Larry Paterson returns to History of War to discuss who was really pulling the strings in this deadly, and risky gamble.

Editor-in-chief

ABOVE: Germany’s use of U-boats against merchant and civilian vessels in WWI is the source of fierce debate to this day