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
SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II now the "Reichstag" approved the new ship. A second member of the class, "Kaiser Wilhelm II", was delayed until early 1896, when the "Reichstag" approved the ship for the 1896–1897 budget. "Kaiser Wilhelm II" was long overall and had a beam of . Her draft was forward and aft. The ship was powered by three 3-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines that drove three screw propellers. Steam was provided by four marine-type and eight cylindrical water-tube boilers, all of which burned coal. "Kaiser Wilhelm II"s powerplant was rated at , which generated a top speed of . She had a normal