The Eulenburg affair, described as "the biggest homosexual scandal ever", was the public controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five civil trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent members of Kaiser Wilhelm II's cabinet and entourage during 1907–1909. The issue centred on Socialist journalist Maximilian Harden's accusations of homosexual conduct between the Kaiser's close friend Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg, and General Kuno, Graf von Moltke. Accusations and counter-accusations quickly multiplied, and the phrase "Liebenberg Round Table" came to be used for the homosexual circle around the Kaiser. The affair received wide publicity and is often considered the biggest domestic scandal of Imperial Germany. It led to one of the first major public discussions of homosexuality in Germany, comparable to the trial of Oscar Wilde in England. Historians have linked the aftermath of the affair to the changes in German foreign policy that heightened its military aggressiveness and ultimately contributed to World War I. Causes The scandal was used by opponents of Germany's foreign policies. Wilhelm II dismissed "Iron" Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and his Realpolitik system of treaties and agreements in 1890, replacing Bismarck's clear rule with a muddle and his foreign policies with a confrontational, expansionist Weltpolitik. The anti-imperialist Eulenburg became the most prominent member of Wilhelm II's entourage, having been promoted from a member of the diplomatic corps to an ambassador. Like many others, Bismarck noticed that the nature of the relationship between Wilhelm II and Eulenburg could "not be confided to paper" and felt, alongside those others, that even these activities in the private sphere were not to be exposed to the public. Beyond that, the Auswärtiges Amt suffered what the British historian John C. G. Röhl called a "culture of intrigue" with German diplomats forever forming factions to plot against one another. The two dominant factions in the early 20th century were the faction headed by Friedrich von Holstein, the powerful director of the Political Department at the Auswärtiges Amt, and the Bülow–Eulenburg clique, headed by Bernhard von Bülow and his close friend Eulenburg, which was rapidly eclipsing the Holstein faction. Holstein had known Eulenburg since June 1886 and had once been his ally when the two had plotted against Bismarck in 1889-1890, but starting around 1894, Eulenburg and Holstein had begun to come into conflict with each other. The close friendship between Eulenburg and the Kaiser meant that Holstein