Sunday 4 November 2018 to 11 November 2018, the Tower of London will not be pitch black at night. A total of 10,000 candles were ignited by Beefeaters or special guards of the United Kingdom to commemorate a century of the ceasefire that ended World War I (World War I), 11 November 1918.

Great War or World War I (July 28, 1914-11 November 1918) claimed a total of 19 million lives, military and civilian. Apart from the existence of the Versailles Treaty on June 28, 1919, the Compiègne Armistice on November 11, 1918 became the initial attempt to end the war that had globalized to the Pacific.

Archives of the French Ministry of Defense, La Convention d'Armistice du 11 Novembre 1918, outlines, negotiations on a ceasefire occur at 11 am (French time) 11th and 11th day at a location in the Compiègne Forest (60 km from Paris) , precisely at a private train car of Marshal Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch, commander of the Allied Supreme in World War I.

Besides Foch as the "host", the Allies were also represented by Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss (England). The Germans were represented by Matthias Erzgeber, Count Alfred von Oberndorff, and General Detlof von Winterfeldt. The Allies accepted a ceasefire with 34 conditions which certainly harmed Germany as a losing party.

Therefore, in addition to London, Paris will also hold a 100-year anniversary of the ceasefire, 11 November 2018. Reporting on time.com, 4 November 2018, its biggest warning in London will also be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier , fulfilling the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II.

One Blood Guild

World War I changed the face and world politics. Especially, in Europe, which was still dominated by three monarchies and the Middle East. Now, only one survives, the United Kingdom with its queen Elizabeth II.

In fact, World War I was actually a conflict from the rivalry of the three superpower monarchies at that time: the British Empire, the German Empire and the Russian Empire. Uniquely, the three rival monarchies are still one blood! The English King George V, the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the Russian Tsar Nikolai II, according to historian Margaret MacMillan in The Rhyme of History: Lessons of the Great War, were none other than cousins.

A family tree that links three kings to each other (Photo: brookings.edu)

MacMillan summarizes the three bloodlines rooted in the Hohenzollern (Prussian) Dynasty. The three kings were descendants of King Frederick William III and Queen Luise (Louise of Mecklenburg-Sterlitz). "Kaiser Wilhelm II and King George V were the first cousins, as was King George V with Tsar Nikolai II. While Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nikolai II are third cousins, "he said.

Mother of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Princess of Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa, was the brother of King Edward VII (father of King George V). While the mother of King George V, namely Queen Alexandra / wife of King Edward VII, was the sister of Queen Dagmar / wife of Tsar Alexander III (mother of Tsar Nikolai II).

Three Brothers Separated War

One of the triggers of World War I was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, crown prince of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, by Gavrilo Princip of Mlada Bosna (Bosnian-Serbian Youth Militia) on June 28, 1914. The killings made Austria-Hungary attack Serbia. Because Serbia was supported by Tsar Nikolai II who was intensifying Pan-Slavisme propaganda, Austria-Hungary sought support from Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Initially Kaiser did not want the Balkan War between Austria-Hungary-Ottoman Sultanate vs. Serbia-Bulgaria-Greece, expanding, despite the heartache of his chum, Franz Ferdinand had been killed. This subject was briefly portrayed in the exile film Wilhelm II in the Netherlands during World War II, The Exception (2016). "I have sent a telegram to Wien, asking Austria to stop in Belgrade,".

Kaiser Wilhelm II (left) & Tsar Nikolai II exchanged uniforms of greatness before the two were involved in World War (Photo: Bundesarchiv)

This reinforced the fact that Wilhelm II had also asked his cousin, Tsar Nikolai II via telegram in late July 1914, to postpone or better cancel the Russian military mobilization in favor of Serbia. Herman Bernstein in The Willy-Nickel Correspondence: Being the Secret and Intimate Telegrams Exchanged between the Kaiser and the Tsar said, Tsar Nikolai II refused if Wilhelm did not do the same thing as military affiliation in favor of Austria-Hungary.

"I understand that you are obliged to mobilize the military, but I hope for the same guarantee from you and that the Russian military mobilization does not mean war and we must continue to negotiate for peace. Proof of our friendship must be kept awake by God's help, avoiding bloodshed. Nicky (Nikolai II), "Nikolai II said in his telegram reply to Wilhelm II, Bernstein was quoted as saying. The answer was considered German as a rejection.

Almost simultaneously with the sending of the ultimatum to Russia, Wilhelm II also demanded that France not interfere with supporting Russia if Germany declared war on Russia. The demand was made by Wilhelm II to anticipate that Germany would not face two fronts, in the east against Russia and in the west against the French-British.

However, the high tension of arms and especially Navy (AL) competition between Germany and England eventually developed into a declaration of war, August 4, 1914. The lighters, the German invasion of France and Belgium were part of the Schlieffen-Plan strategy. England did not accept Belgium being invaded because Belgium's neutrality towards any war was guaranteed by the British since 1839.

The seeds of hatred began to grow on King George V's chest. From that moment on, George replaced his breed from the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Dynasty to the Windsor Dynasty even though it was only inaugurated on July 17, 1917 as the German monarchy collapsed.

"Britain, Russia and France are mutually related to our support for Austria - utilizing the Austria-Serbia conflict as a war to destroy Germany on the grounds of Balance of Power in Europe ... George and Nicky (Nikolai II) have worked on me. If my grandmother is still alive (Queen Victoria), she won't let it go !, "regretted Wilhelm, quoted by Michael Balfour in The Kaiser and His Times.

King George V (left) & Tsar Nikolai II allied against his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II in World War I (Photo: Wikimedia)

As a result, the war really expanded, where the United States and Japan intervened, until it ended in 1918. As a result, the German monarchy collapsed and was replaced by the Weimar Republic. Wilhelm II was then exiled to the Netherlands.

But even though Germany lost, Nikolai II did not feel the victory. The Russian Empire first went bankrupt a year earlier by the Bolshevik Revolution. Nikolai II was jailed and then executed together with the rest of the Romanov Dynasty, July 17, 1918, after his request for asylum to England was rejected by King George V. The cousin feared that Nikolai II's presence in England would trigger another rebellion such as the Easter Rising in Ireland, April 1916

The fate of Wilhelm II was luckier. Although he had no more power since November 28, 1918 via an official statement descending his throne, he could still live in exile with the mercy of Queen Wilhelmina.

By George V, Wilhelm II was labeled a war criminal. But the Allied request that Wilhelm II was extradited was rejected by Wilhelmina on the grounds that he wanted to maintain the brotherhood of the Hohenzollern and Orange Dynasties since 1646. During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had offered asylum but was rejected by Wilhelm II. He chose to remain in the Netherlands until his death on June 4, 1941.