"...The German/Prussians were the aggressors in 1914."
It's not so simple. Let's see, where to start?... Secret treaties, Russia's desire for a warm-water port, a German strategic warplan without adequate failsafes? Russia supported the Serbian revolt against the Austrians, in return for a warm-water port for its navy once independence was attained. When Austria responded militarily to the growing unrest in its territories (marked by the assassination of the archduke), Russia mobilized its forces in preparation for action against Austria. Austria was allied with Germany, and Germany mobilized against Russia and France (who was allied with the Russians). Germany's vonSchlieffen warplan for action against France called for a two pincer attack against Paris, with the northern pincer moving through Luxembourg and Belgium. The British, unbeknownest to the Germans, where allied with Belgium. As with any warplan that is practiced over and over again, there is a danger that when implemented for real, the troops will automatically move on to the next stage without positive command. That's exactly what happened. When the Kaiser was told of this possibility, he immediately telegraphed the field commanders and told them not to cross any international borders until he gave them explicit orders to do so. The telegrams were received about 1/2 hour after the German forces had moved into Luxembourg. The rest, they say, is well-known history.
BTW, I'm not a German historical revisionist. This is (at least, Was) taught in American schools.
I largely agree with you. Among "peace activist" cliches are that "if we would just get to know and better understand each other we could avoid war blah blah blah". It is so interesting that the blood family relationships among the leadership of England, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany, and to a lesser extent France did nothing to prevent the plunge into war.