Bodo von dem Knesebeck

He secured the appointment of his comrade, the later Imperial Chancellor Bernhard von Bülow to the unit and served as his squadron leader.

He remained a lifelong friend and ally at court of von Bülow, and was highly critical of the circumstances of the latter's removal from office.

[6] He was considered an educated and charming representation of the older class of German gentry, maintaining close contacts with the artistic and philosophical circles in Berlin.

[7] He was a co-initiator of the Goethe Society and a “chevalresque admirer” of Marie von Schleinitz and her literary salons, where Prine Philipp of Eulenburg performed his own songs.

[10] In 1909, he overheard the Kaiser discussing with a boat pilot in Bari his foreign and domestic policies, as well as his personal relations with other sovereigns and his ministers.

[11] Bülow later said of him: “His death, which occurred not long before the outbreak of the World War, was a great loss to the Empress, and she felt it deeply.

It was also a loss to William II, although His Majesty did not at bottom like Knesebeck, probably feeling that the latter, with his quiet scepticism, did not take him quite au serieux.

He offered support to the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War[15] and strongly advocated for greater involvement by the Red Cross in conflict situations and preparation for epidemics.