WWI Germany

Germany did have a stake in Colonialism as well under the Wilhelmian regime, Bismarck knew not to ponder about too risky goals, he saw true potential in exploiting the East, and maintaining the treaty with Russia.  Wilhelm's downfall was appeasing the crumbling Hapsburgs, and his lack of foresight, alongside his inept diplomatic abilities. Not to mention that he was a tad bit hardheaded. All of these factors contributed toward the outbreak of the Great War, however, they did not all contribute to the arising competition, and squabbling among the Great Powers. Britain certainly had a greedy hand to play, alongside the French, they learned their lesson fifty years earlier under Napoleon III that the German, or rather the Prussians were the German Emperors of Old rather than the feeble Feudal states compromising a already weakened "Holy" Roman Empire. They armed, they entrenched, they fortified, and they strengthened their diplomatic ties to Britain, and to Russia, as soon as their treaty with Germany ran out. That put Germany into a impossible situation to win any type of war. However, the German elite was to blame for the war as well. True, they never intended a "World" war, however, there are plenty of documents, of military planing for a war, of correspondence, the aura was ripe for a short "Bismarckian" war at the close of the first decade of the twentieth century. The elite knew of Bismarck's remarkable reactionary achievement after the two short wars with Austria and France. Bismarck himself never a nationalist had no real personal ambitions to unite with the "southern" Germans, he had his German Confederation of northern industrialist states under the dominance of Prussia. However, he did have a rising middle class that wanted rights, that wanted expanded trading privileges, that wanted a share of power as the Nobility's role in economic dominance was coming to a close. In short he realized that war would put the ambitions of both social orders under the government, under the Kaiser, so a war that unified Germany gave the liberals their Nationalistic dream, gave them the power of the Prussian army and influence abroad, the protection for their business ventures at the price of giving up their democratic ambitions. This did not happen in France or in Britain where the middle class succeeded. Germany now unified under staunchly reactionary Aristocracy, with the industrialists as their junior partners had relative stability for the next two generations. Nevertheless, toward the 1910s that stability was waning, strikes, the socialist party, etc were gaining momentum, the clock could not be turned back any longer through diplomatic means with the various progressive movements, the reactionaries' hopes and dreams lay on a short Bismarck war that would rile the people behind the Kaiser, and give them perhaps another ten twenty years of unquestioned dominance. When Austria's crown prince got murdered, and the greedy Austrian government seeing potential expanding in the Balkans sent a diplomatic mission to Berlin, the Kaiser without thinking about it gave them a go ahead... shortly thereafter Germany had mobilized and declared war on France and Russia.

I know this may be somewhat flawed, but sufficient enough for essay defending German Empire...