The Kaiser and the German establishment hoped the war would unite the public behind the monarchy, and lessen the threat posed by the dramatic growth of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which had been the most vocal critic of the Kaiser in the Reichstag before the war.
Car se nadao, da će rat ujediniti javnost i monarhiju te smanjiti prijetnju koju je predstavio dramatični rast Socijaldemokratske partije Njemačke, koja je bila najglasniji kritičar cara u Reichstagu prije rata.