| Part of the First World War centenary | |
 Balloon release at the Reims War Memorial in the Place de la République. | |
| Date | 28 July – 4 August 2014 |
|---|---|
The centenary of the outbreak of World War I occurred in the summer of 2014, with events in several European and Commonwealth countries. It marked the beginning of a wider four year centenary period commemorating the war.
The July Crisis, which occurred after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, had culminated in Austria-Hungary declaring war on the Kingdom of Serbia, which Austria-Hungary blamed for the assassination, on 28 July 1914. Over the following days and weeks, this action and the invasion of Luxembourg and Belgium by the German Empire led to a succession of other declarations of war that drew the major European powers into a worldwide conflict.
On 3 August 2014, the centenary of Germany's declaration of war on France was marked by French President François Hollande and German President Joachim Gauck, who together laid the first stone of a new joint memorial at Hartmannswillerkopf for French and German soldiers killed in the war. Over 30,000 soldiers from both sides died in the fighting here at the Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf. The site, in the Vosges mountains of Alsace in France, is the location of a cemetery and a crypt containing the ashes of 12,000 unknown soldiers. The presidents observed a minute's silence in the crypt. [1]
The centenary of the First World War was commemorated in Canada on 3 August 2014, the date of the German declaration of war on France. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the National War Memorial, before continuing at the Canadian War Museum. During the ceremony, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the permanent extension of the Ceremonial Guard's sentry hours, from Vimy Ridge Day to Remembrance Day. [2]
Other tributes were also held in Halifax, where lights were shut off at major landmarks, and an ecumenical service at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John's. [2] The event was also commemorated in Toronto in an event organised by the tourism office for Flanders, where a group of men in newsboy costumes distributed fictitious historical newspaper describing the major events of the war. [3] The centenary of the war was also the theme of the 93rd annual Warrior's Day Parade, held on 10 August at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition. [4]
On the morning of 4 August 2014, leaders and representatives of 83 countries gathered at the Interallied Memorial of Cointe on the outskirts of Liège to commemorate the invasion of Belgium by Germany and the Battle of Liège. [5] Representing Belgium were Philippe, King of the Belgians and Queen Mathilde, together with the Presidents of France and Germany, François Hollande and Joachim Gauck. Representatives were present from the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Serbia, Romania and the European Commission. Speeches were given by King Philippe, Hollande, Gauck, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. The commemoration culminated in the laying of a wreath of white roses at the memorial by King Philippe. [5]
On the evening of 4 August 2014, a commemorative event was held at St Symphorien cemetery in Belgium. [6] Originally built by the Germans during the war, and containing both German and British graves, this cemetery is now maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The commemorative event here marked the losses at the Battle of Mons. Those attending the event and ceremony included King Philippe and Queen Mathilde representing Belgium. Representing the United Kingdom were Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. Politicians present included German President Joachim Gauck, Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Also present was Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The event was broadcast on television by the British Broadcasting Corporation, with narration by historian Dan Snow, accompanied with readings, music and poetry about the history of the war. [6] Wreath-laying and a silence was followed by the playing of The Last Post.
The final event of commemoration on 4 August 2014 was held in London at Westminster Abbey, with a service and a candlelit vigil. [7] This was part of the 'Lights Out' event inspired by the words of Sir Edward Grey, foreign secretary during the outbreak of the war: "The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime." Those present at the service included Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband. The culmination of the service was a vigil at the Tomb of The Unknown Warrior. [7] Part of the same 'Lights Out' event was the Spectra installation, with 49 beams of light rising above London from Victoria Tower Gardens to mark the centenary of the entry of Britain into the war. [8]
Between 5 August (the centenary of the first full day of the war) and 11 November (Remembrance Day) 2014 at the Tower of London, a ceramic poppy was planted for each British and Commonwealth soldier who died, making up the artwork titled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red . [9]
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is called the Fête nationale française ; legally it is known as le 14 juillet.
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. The day is also marked by war remembrances in several other non-Commonwealth countries. In most countries, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of First World War hostilities. Hostilities ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. The First World War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, at 5:45 am for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918 although, according to Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with the U.S. First Division, shelling from both sides continued for the rest of the day, ending only at nightfall. The armistice initially expired after a period of 36 days and had to be extended several times. A formal peace agreement was reached only when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year.
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in November. Remembrance Sunday, within the Church of England, falls in the liturgical period of Allsaintstide.
Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official end of World War II in Europe in the Eastern Front, with the last known shots fired on 11 May.
Vimy is a commune in the French department of Pas-de-Calais. Located 3.8 kilometers (2.4 mi) east of Vimy is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial dedicated to the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Canadian soldiers who were killed during the First World War. The Memorial is also the site of two Canadian cemeteries.
The Menin Gate, officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town and marks the starting point for one of the main roads that led Allied soldiers to the front line.
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenotaphs honour individuals, many noted cenotaphs are also dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the lost soldiers of a country or of an empire.
Victory Day is a holiday that commemorates the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945. It was first inaugurated in the 15 republics of the Soviet Union following the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender late in the evening on 8 May 1945. The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin. Although the official inauguration occurred in 1945, the holiday became a non-labor day only in 1965.
Hartmannswillerkopf, also known as the Vieil Armand (French) or Hartmannsweiler Kopf is a pyramidal rocky spur in the Vosges mountains of the Grand Est region, France. The peak stands at 956 metres (3,136 ft) overlooking the Rhine valley. At Hartmannswillerkopf stands a national monument of World War I for the fighting which took place in the trenches here.
The St Symphorien Military Cemetery is a First World War Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground in Saint-Symphorien, Belgium. It contains the graves of 284 German and 229 Commonwealth soldiers, principally those killed during the Battle of Mons. The cemetery was established by the German Army on land donated by Jean Houzeau de Lehaie. It was initially designed as a woodland cemetery before being redesigned by William Harrison Cowlishaw after the Imperial War Graves Commission took over maintenance of the cemetery after the war.
Joachim Wilhelm Gauck is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany.
The First World War centenary was the four-year period marking the centenary of the First World War, which began in mid-2014 with the centenary of the outbreak of the war, and ended in late 2018 with the centenary of the 1918 armistice.
L'Anneau de la Mémoire is a World War I memorial in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, France. Designed by Philippe Prost and inaugurated on 11 November 2014, the 96th anniversary of Armistice Day, the memorial honors the 576,606 soldiers of forty different nationalities who died at Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The memorial is located at the site of the national cemetery of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. The monument consists of 500 metal panels that are arranged in an ellipse pattern, each 3 meters in height. Each panel contains approximately 1200 names of fallen soldiers, listed alphabetically by last name. The 500th panel remains blank so that any newly discovered names may be inscribed. The most noteworthy aspect of the Ring of Memory is that it is the first memorial to list alphabetically, with no regard to rank nor nationality.
The centenary of the Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland occurred in 2016. Many events were held throughout the country to mark the occasion.
The Dunkirk Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorial to the missing that commemorates 4,505 missing dead of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), most of whom fell prior to and during the Battle of Dunkirk in 1939 and 1940, in the fall of France during the Second World War.
The centenary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was an international series of events marking the 2018 anniversary of the armistice which ended hostilities in World War I. It concluded the series of commemorations marking the wider First World War centenary beginning in 2014. The date of the centenary was marked by numerous events were scheduled in conjunction with the series of related annual memorial days and also as part of commissions established for the purposes of marking the four year centenary of the First World War.
The Interallied Memorial at Cointe is a war memorial built after World War I in Liège, Belgium. The memorial is a complex consisting of the Sacré-Cœur church as a religious building and a cenotaph with a tower as a secular monument.