Abdication of Wilhelm II and the Dutch government, however, refused the Allies' requests to extradite him. King George V wrote that his cousin was "the greatest criminal in history", but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". U.S. President Woodrow Wilson also opposed extradition, arguing that punishing Wilhelm would destabilize international order and lose the peace. Wilhelm first settled in Amerongen, where on 28 November he issued a belated statement of abdication of both the Prussian and imperial thrones. He also released his soldiers and officials in both Prussia and the empire from their oaths of loyalty to him. Wilhelm
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II early July 1900, "Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm" and the other three "Brandenburg"-class battleships, which were assigned to the I Division of the I Squadron, were ordered to East Asian waters to assist in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion. As a result, "Kaiser Wilhelm II" and the other ships of the II Division were transferred to the I Division on 8 July, under the command of "Konteradmiral" Paul Hoffmann. On 15 August the annual autumn maneuvers began; initially, the fleet practiced tactical maneuvers in the German Bight. A cruise in battle formation through the Kattegat followed, and the maneuvers concluded in