Wilhelm II, German Emperor despite appeals from the Allies. King George V wrote that he looked on his cousin as "the greatest criminal in history", but opposed Prime Minister David Lloyd George's proposal to "hang the Kaiser". President Woodrow Wilson of the United States opposed extradition, arguing that prosecuting 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 from both the Prussian and imperial thrones, thus formally ending the Hohenzollerns' 400-year rule over Prussia. Accepting the reality that he had lost both of his crowns for good, he
HMS King George V (41) "Rodney" opened fire. "King George V" followed suit in less than a minute. "Bismarck" answered almost immediately, straddling "Rodney" on her second salvo. By 08:59 "King George V" had closed to and all her 14-inch guns were firing; "Rodney" was firing full 16-inch salvoes. "Bismarck" concentrated all her remaining guns on "King George V", but only an occasional shell came close. At 09:14 "King George V", at , had opened fire with her 5.25-inch guns, and "Rodney" had moved to . At 09:27 a shell hitting "Bismarck" penetrated the hydraulic machinery in turret 'Anton' and disabled it, causing the guns