Wilhelm II, German Emperor after his consent had been gained that major changes to the high command could be effected. Wilhelm was in favour of the dismissal of Helmuth von Moltke the Younger in September 1914 and his replacement by Erich von Falkenhayn. In 1917, Hindenburg and Ludendorff decided that Bethman-Hollweg was no longer acceptable to them as Chancellor and called upon the Kaiser to appoint somebody else. When asked whom they would accept, Ludendorff recommended Georg Michaelis, a nonentity whom he barely knew. The Kaiser did not know Michaelis, but accepted the suggestion. Upon hearing in July 1917 that his cousin George V
Kaiser Friedrich III-class battleship active service for a second time. The ships were disarmed by 1916 and transferred to secondary roles. "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" became a torpedo training ship and "Kaiser Wilhelm II" became the headquarters ship for the commander of the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven. The other three ships were used as floating prisons. In 1917, "Kaiser Friedrich III" was transferred to barracks ship duties in Flensburg. All of the ships, with the exception of "Kaiser Wilhelm II", were stricken from the navy register on 6 December 1919 and sold for scrapping. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" followed on 17 March 1921. By