"When William II became Kaiser, he spent the first twenty-six years of his reign "playing at soldiers" because he was obsessed with military matters," said Elizabeth. "Also, the arms race, which was basically Germany trying to match British naval superiority was a key factor in Britain signing the Entente. The development the fast firing guns -- Gattling and machine guns -- were part of why the war lasted as long as it did. Both sides were embedded in trenches because they didn't know how to fight against these weapons. And when they did go over the top, they suffered horrendous casualties."