Kill the Kaiser! The secret attempt to assassinate Kaiser Wilhelm II
On 2nd June 1918 a squadron of the newly formed Royal Air Force set out on a secret mission which has been hitherto kept secret. In one of the first attempts at what we would now call 'precision bombing' the men of 25 Squadron tried to assassinate the Kaiser during his visit to a chateau near the front.
This top-secret mission has remained classified information for a century. It was felt that by killing their head of state and commander in chief it would serve as a mortal blow to the German forces and they would collapse very quickly after the assassination.
The Official History makes no mention of any attack, and public records say nothing. Was it sanctioned by the C-in-C, Sir Douglas Haig? By the War Office? Was the King informed of the attempt to kill his royal cousin? Was Lloyd George, the Prime Minister asked? We do not know; but someone in London must have sanctioned the attack.
In this presentation John Hughes-Wilson seeks to explain who could have ordered an attack to 'Kill the Kaiser'.
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