And all of humanity suffered because of it. I finally finished reading Miranda Carter's work, George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I, after having read it off and on since I bought it right after Thanksgiving. I read many books in between reading this one, finding it easy to take a break and go on to something else. That isn't to say that it wasn't a good book, but it was densely written, with copious amounts of details that are probably more than the average reader wanted to know.
But you can't finish this book without the feeling that you've learned quite a lot and that you better understand the tangled roots that led to the tragedy of the First World War, one of the most unnecessary conflicts in all of human history. In an era marked by the hand of Queen Victoria, who erroneously believed that good relations between the royal families of Europe would bring peace, the three royal cousins, George V of England, Wilhelm II of Germany and Nicholas II of Russia, were perhaps the most unsuitable heads of state to have at the time. Carter traces their historical progression, their shortcomings, how their education left them utterly unprepared for what lay ahead, and how their own personal foibles and their relationship with each other shaped the era. In short, their education and upbringing gave them an inflated sense of their own prowess without ability to match.
George, painfully shy and utterly in thrall to the person of his father, Edward VII, and brother (who died early leaving George heir to the throne), had limited decision-making powers, but the decisions he was involved in making, such as supporting Haig as British commander and thus his strategy of mass charges against machine guns, were disastrous. Wilhelm couldn't make a consistent policy decision, vacillating between love and hatred of England, and his militaristic posturing masked a personality that was essentially weak. When the time for war came, Wilhelm tried to back out, but events had gone too far for it to be stopped at that point. He lost his nerve and spent much of the war in a near-state of nervous collapse. Nicholas was utterly isolated from any sense of reality in Russia, believing that the people loved him simply because they cheered him when he emerged from his cloistered existence. He trusted that his own special sense of what the Russian people needed, part of his inheritance through being crowned Tsar, was more reliable than his own ministers' reports.
Of the three, only George proved able to survive the cataclysm of war. Nicholas, as incompetent in war as he had been in peace, refused to bend to the rising tide of democracy, believing that the way of his father was best in simply trying to tighten the screws. Even after the limited democratic reforms that led to a parliament, the Duma, Nicholas constantly worked to undercut it and refused to listen. The revolution that swept him out of power was followed quickly by a second revolution that ushered in the Soviet Union and saw Nicholas executed, along with his entire family. His last words were a fitting testament to his reign, marking a confusion that had pervaded his time as Tsar. As the declaration of their execution was read out, Nicholas responded incredulously, "What?" before being shot point-blank. Wilhelm, who by 1918 had long since been stripped of any real decision-making powers by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorf, hadn't been told any bad news at all. As far as he knew, the war continued apace, for to prevent a nervous breakdown he hadn't been told anything but good news in years. His quick removal from power, entering exile in the Netherlands, took him by such surprise that he spent his remaining years blaming everyone for the failure of his reign, except himself. He and his sons flirted with an emergent Nazi Party in the vain hopes that they would be restored to power.
George, however, severely damaged by the experience of wartime, the sight of the carnage during his frequent visits to the front and to field hospitals, changed. He no longer attempted to stretch his constitutional powers, in fact becoming more of a figurehead than ever. A real person, with real flaws, to be sure, but he proved capable of adapting to the changing times, as his two cousins did not. George V came to represent the modern incarnation of the British monarchy, uninterested in politics to a large degree, existing only for ceremony and nothing more. The continuing popularity of the British monarchy seems to attest to the wisdom of his actions.
Though perhaps overly-long, Carter's book is a valuable addition to the discussion of the lead-up to the First World War, and for anyone interested in the period, or the fascinating personalities of Victoria, Edward, George, Wilhelm or Nicholas, should take a look.
But you can't finish this book without the feeling that you've learned quite a lot and that you better understand the tangled roots that led to the tragedy of the First World War, one of the most unnecessary conflicts in all of human history. In an era marked by the hand of Queen Victoria, who erroneously believed that good relations between the royal families of Europe would bring peace, the three royal cousins, George V of England, Wilhelm II of Germany and Nicholas II of Russia, were perhaps the most unsuitable heads of state to have at the time. Carter traces their historical progression, their shortcomings, how their education left them utterly unprepared for what lay ahead, and how their own personal foibles and their relationship with each other shaped the era. In short, their education and upbringing gave them an inflated sense of their own prowess without ability to match.
George, painfully shy and utterly in thrall to the person of his father, Edward VII, and brother (who died early leaving George heir to the throne), had limited decision-making powers, but the decisions he was involved in making, such as supporting Haig as British commander and thus his strategy of mass charges against machine guns, were disastrous. Wilhelm couldn't make a consistent policy decision, vacillating between love and hatred of England, and his militaristic posturing masked a personality that was essentially weak. When the time for war came, Wilhelm tried to back out, but events had gone too far for it to be stopped at that point. He lost his nerve and spent much of the war in a near-state of nervous collapse. Nicholas was utterly isolated from any sense of reality in Russia, believing that the people loved him simply because they cheered him when he emerged from his cloistered existence. He trusted that his own special sense of what the Russian people needed, part of his inheritance through being crowned Tsar, was more reliable than his own ministers' reports.
Of the three, only George proved able to survive the cataclysm of war. Nicholas, as incompetent in war as he had been in peace, refused to bend to the rising tide of democracy, believing that the way of his father was best in simply trying to tighten the screws. Even after the limited democratic reforms that led to a parliament, the Duma, Nicholas constantly worked to undercut it and refused to listen. The revolution that swept him out of power was followed quickly by a second revolution that ushered in the Soviet Union and saw Nicholas executed, along with his entire family. His last words were a fitting testament to his reign, marking a confusion that had pervaded his time as Tsar. As the declaration of their execution was read out, Nicholas responded incredulously, "What?" before being shot point-blank. Wilhelm, who by 1918 had long since been stripped of any real decision-making powers by Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorf, hadn't been told any bad news at all. As far as he knew, the war continued apace, for to prevent a nervous breakdown he hadn't been told anything but good news in years. His quick removal from power, entering exile in the Netherlands, took him by such surprise that he spent his remaining years blaming everyone for the failure of his reign, except himself. He and his sons flirted with an emergent Nazi Party in the vain hopes that they would be restored to power.
George, however, severely damaged by the experience of wartime, the sight of the carnage during his frequent visits to the front and to field hospitals, changed. He no longer attempted to stretch his constitutional powers, in fact becoming more of a figurehead than ever. A real person, with real flaws, to be sure, but he proved capable of adapting to the changing times, as his two cousins did not. George V came to represent the modern incarnation of the British monarchy, uninterested in politics to a large degree, existing only for ceremony and nothing more. The continuing popularity of the British monarchy seems to attest to the wisdom of his actions.
Though perhaps overly-long, Carter's book is a valuable addition to the discussion of the lead-up to the First World War, and for anyone interested in the period, or the fascinating personalities of Victoria, Edward, George, Wilhelm or Nicholas, should take a look.
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