Part II. Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) His expertise dealing with military matters was superficial, and in the late stages of the war he became irrelevant, progressively yielding his authority to the military. By 1917-18, Ludendorff was initiating the war policy of the German Empire. Wilhelm was forced to abdicate prior to the Nov. 1918 Armistice taking effect; he went into exile in Holland, to avoid Allied prosecution as a war criminal.