In the weeks that followed the end of the war, Kaiser Wilhelm II found himself busier than he had been in years.
While he had left the war and its operations largely in the trusted hands of Bruno, he was now forced to entertain very serious political consequences and the fallout of the war's end.
The German Army had yet to withdraw its forces from the Netherlands, despite the fighting having long since concluded. And the local population was growing antsy.
Meanwhile, King Albert I of Belgium had travelled to Berlin for a private meeting with the Kaiser.
Wilhelm sat in his office with his Belgian counterpart in front of him. Both were dressed in their formal regalia; both had drinks in their hands.
In years past, Albert would never have considered the proposal he was about to make. But as the world changed rapidly around him over the course of the century, he knew that Belgium's place in the world no longer existed as an independent nation.
