WWI: Historian reflects on Germany's declaration of war in 1914 On August 1, 1914, 100 years ago, Germany's emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II declared war on Russia, was preparing to attack France. Germany had started World War I. Wilhelm believed the matter would be wrapped up in a few weeks in a blaze of glory but four years later, Germany will have lost the conflict, costing it about two million lives and bringing about the end of its empire. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES with a historian