Armistice Day centenary

The Armistice Day centenary, signifying one hundred years since the Armistice that ended World War I on the Western Front, was marked on 11 November 2018. Commemorative events were organised in the weeks leading up to the centenary itself, including a gathering of over 70 heads of state and government in Paris. A series of Armistice Day, Remembrance Day and Veterans Day commemorations, ceremonies and speeches were held across Europe, the Commonwealth and the United States, as well as in other locations throughout the world.

Background

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed near the French town of Compiègne between the Allies (led by Supreme Allied Commander Ferdinand Foch) and Germany (represented by Matthias Erzberger), after similar agreements had been made with Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary. The agreements made by both sides included the cessation of all hostilities on the Western Front. It was officially signed at 5:45am on 11 November and came into effect later that morning at 11am Paris time. Following the end of the war, 11 November is commemorated as a day of remembrance in multiple countries under different names (Armistice Day, Remembrance Day in Commonwealth countries and Veterans Day in the United States).

France

Timeline

Official French commemorations began on 4 November 2018, when President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse Brigitte Macron hosted German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Strasbourg Cathedral. A concert was held in their presence, and the flags of France, Germany and the European Union were hoisted outside the cathedral.

In the lead up to the centenary itself, President Macron carried out a "memorial tour", visiting symbolic locations on the Western Front. The tour was met with backlash, particularly "drawing the scorn of ordinary French voters over his perceived metropolitan disregard for their pocketbook concerns." Macron also announced that writer Maurice Genevoix, author of numerous books on the First World War, would be listed on the Panthéon in 2019, alongside 14 other authors. He outlined plans to host a commemoration ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe followed by an inaugural peace forum at the Grande halle de la Villette on the occasion of the centenary.

In overseas France, which contributed to the wider French war effort, the number of Réunionese troops killed in action was readjusted to 1,693, leading to the island issuing a renewal of the plaques on its war memorials on the eve of the commemoration of the centenary.

10 November

Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the Glade of the Armistice at Compiègne, where they laid a wreath, unveiled a reconciliatory plaque and signed a book of remembrance in a replica of the railway carriage where the Armistice was signed. The visit was symbolic as it marked the first time that French and German leaders had visited the site since 1945. Macron also met with US President Donald Trump bilaterally at the Élysée Palace, a day after Trump posted a tweet saying Europe should "first pay its fair share" of NATO in response to the former's suggestions for a continental European army.

11 November

At 11:00 CET, bells across France rang simultaneously marking a century since the armistice came into force, including at the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral as well as other churches in overseas territories such as Wallis and Futuna.

After all dignitaries were assembled at the Arc de Triomphe, the ceremony began at roughly 11:20, with a performance of the national anthem ''La Marseillaise'' and an inspection of troops by President Macron, followed by a roll call of French soldiers killed in the preceding year and a second rendition of ''La Marseillaise'' by an army choir. The event included performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, French violinist Renaud Capuçon and Beninese musician Angélique Kidjo, and 1918 testimonies being read out by a group of teenage students.

Macron delivered a speech in which he denounced nationalism as a "betrayal of patriotism", and warned of the resurgence of "old demons". His address was followed by a performance of Ravel's ''Bolero'' by the European Union Youth Orchestra, after which he paid tribute at the Tomb to the Unknown Soldier. A one-minute silence, preceded by the ''Sonnerie aux morts'' and ending with the ''Cessez-le-feu'' bugle call, concluded the ceremony.

The first Paris Peace Forum was inaugurated in the afternoon, with Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres giving opening remarks. US President Donald Trump notably did not attend, instead choosing to visit the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial, where he made an address before returning to Washington.

A concert was held in La Force in the Dordogne department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Violinist Pierre Hamel from the Orchestre Colonne performed at the concert alongside a pianist and a cellist, using a metal violin assembled by soldiers in the trenches.

The European Broadcasting Union organised a concert at the Royal Opera of Versailles with performances by the Vienna Philharmonic, entitled the "Concert for Peace."

Attendees

Over 120 foreign dignitaries, including 72 heads of state and government and representatives of several international organisations, attended the commemorations in Paris. In preparation for the events, around 10,000 police officers, gendarmes and soldiers were placed on duty. Macron hosted an official reception dinner for the dignitaries at the Musée d'Orsay on the evening of 10 November, and received them at the Élysée Palace prior to the ceremony.

While most guests were transported in groups of buses, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin used their own presidential vehicles, and both showed up late at the venue; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also arrived later separately. All foreign guests were invited to a luncheon at the Élysée following the ceremony, with their consorts gathering at the Palace of Versailles.

; France
* Édouard Philippe, Prime Minister of France
** Édith Cresson, former Prime Minister (1991–1992)
** Édouard Balladur, former Prime Minister (1993–1995)
** Jean-Marc Ayrault, former Prime Minister (2012–2014)
* Christophe Castaner, Minister of the Interior
* Geneviève Darrieussecq, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Armed Forces
* Richard Ferrand, President of the National Assembly
* Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris
* Gérard Larcher, President of the French Senate
* Brigitte Macron, spouse of President Emmanuel Macron
* Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces
* Valérie Pécresse, President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France
* Nicolas Sarkozy, former President of France
* Jacques Toubon, French ombudsman

; Foreign dignitaries
: Africa
* Ahmed Ouyahia, Prime Minister of Algeria
* Aurélien Agbénonci, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Benin
* Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of Burkina Faso
* Faustin-Archange Touadéra, President of the Central African Republic
* Idriss Déby, President of Chad, and First Lady Hinda Déby Itno
* Azali Assoumani, President of Comoros
* Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo
* Alassane Ouattara, President of Djibouti
* Alpha Condé, President of Guinea
* Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya
* George Weah, President of Liberia
* Fayez al-Sarraj, Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya, and Nadia Refaat
* Rivo Rakotovao, acting President of Madagascar
* Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of Mali
* Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, President of Mauritania
* King Mohammed VI of Morocco
** Crown Prince Moulay el Hassan of Morocco
* Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger
* Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria
* Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda
* Macky Sall, President of Senegal
* Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Minister of Defence of South Africa
* Beji Caid Essebsi, President of Tunisia

: Americas
* Paulo César de Oliveira Campos, Ambassador of Brazil to France
* Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
* Donald Trump, President of the United States, and First Lady Melania Trump

: Asia
* Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia
* Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
* Chea Sophara, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia
* Ji Bingxuan, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China
* Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia
* Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, and Usha Naidu
* Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and Sara Netanyahu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Japan
* Dastan Jumabekov, Speaker of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan
* Phankham Viphavanh, Vice President of Laos
* Rami Hamdallah, Prime Minister of Palestine
* Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar
* , Chairman of the Assembly of Representatives of Tajikistan
* Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand
* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, and First Lady Emine Erdoğan
* Nigmatilla Yuldashev, Chairman of the Senate of Uzbekistan

: Europe
* Ilir Meta, President of Albania
* Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
* Mikhail Myasnikovich, Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus
* Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium
* Bakir Izetbegović, Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Rumen Radev, President of Bulgaria
* Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of Croatia
* Nikos Anastasiadis, President of Cyprus
* Andrej Babiš, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and Monika Herodesová
* Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
* Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
* Sauli Niinistö, President of Finland
* Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
* Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece
* Pietro Parolin, Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See
* Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, President of Iceland
* Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach of Ireland
* Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy
* Hashim Thaçi, President of Kosovo
* Raimonds Vējonis, President of Latvia
* Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania
* Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg
** Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
* Gjorge Ivanov, President of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
* Carmelo Abela, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta
* Igor Dodon, President of Moldova
* Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco
* Milo Đukanović, President of Montenegro
* Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
* Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway
* Jacek Czaputowicz, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
* Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal
* Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania
* Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
* Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia
* Andrej Kiska, President of Slovakia
* Borut Pahor, President of Slovenia
* King Felipe VI of Spain
** Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain
* Stefan Löfven, Prime Minister of Sweden
* Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation
* Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine
* Edward Llewellyn, Baron Llewellyn of Steep, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to France
** David Lidington, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office

: Oceania
* Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of Australia, and Lynne, Lady Cosgrove
* Epeli Nailatikau, former President of Fiji
* Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand
* Tallis Obed Moses, President of Vanuatu

: International organisations
* Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
* Paul Kagame, Chairperson of the African Union
* Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
* Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission
* Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament
* Michaëlle Jean, Secretary-General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
* Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization
* Christine Lagarde, chair and managing director of the International Monetary Fund
* Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO
* José Ángel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development
* Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO
* Paolo Artini, Representative to France of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
* António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
* María Fernanda Espinosa, President of the United Nations General Assembly
* Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General of the World Trade Organization
* Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank

Controversy & incidents

In October 2018, reports circulated in the French press that Philippe Pétain, who served in the Battle of Verdun and later led Nazi-aligned Vichy France, would be paid tribute at the Hôtel des Invalides alongside other World War I marshals. In response, the office of the Élysée said it didn't understand how such a tribute "ended up there", explaining that it was "not in the fficialprogram". President Macron in particular described Pétain as a "great soldier", while remarking that he made "disastrous choices" during the Nazi occupation. The resulting public controversy led to the tribute to Pétain being withdrawn from the schedule.

A planned visit by US President Donald Trump to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial on 10 November was cancelled; the White House said the decision was taken due to "bad weather". The cancellation was met with harsh criticism, particularly from former Obama national security adviser Ben Rhodes and British Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, a grandson of Winston Churchill.

During the procession to the Arc de Triomphe, President Trump's motorcade passed by a topless woman who ran towards it and was quickly dragged out by French police. The radical feminist group Femen claimed responsibility for the incident. French police had already arrested three Femen demonstrators who staged a protest at the Arc de Triomphe on the morning of 10 November welcoming "war criminals". In addition, anti-Trump demonstrations were held at the Place de la République.

United Kingdom

Timeline

On 4 November, 10,000 torches were lit in the moat of the Tower of London, in an artistic installation entitled ''Beyond the Deepening Shadow'' which repeated nightly ending on 11 November.

The ''Shrouds of the Somme'', designed by artist Rob Heard and comprising 72,396 shrouded figures representing all servicemen from the British Commonwealth with no known grave, was laid out at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, being on display from 8 to 18 November 2018.

On 9 November, Prime Minister Theresa May visited the Thiepval Memorial in northern France and paid respects along with French President Emmanuel Macron. She also visited the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Belgium, and laid wreaths at the graves of the first and last British soldiers killed in the Great War, respectively John Parr and George Edwin Ellison; her wreaths were attached with handwritten messages in which she thanked those who died for being "staunch to the end", using lines from wartime poems.

Remembrance Sunday

As Remembrance Sunday in 2018 fell on 11 November, the National Service of Remembrance was held concurrently with other commemorative events in Europe.

The service at The Cenotaph in London began at 11:00 GMT, with a two-minute silence being observed in the presence of British political figures and members of the royal family, prime minister Theresa May and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Prince Charles then laid the first wreath on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.

In a reconciliatory act, President Steinmeier became the first German leader to lay a wreath at The Cenotaph. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport described his presence as "a symbol of the friendship that exists between the two countries today". Thousands marched past the war memorial and were able to lay their own wreaths, paying respect to relatives and soldiers who died in the war. Despite ongoing renovations, the Big Ben rang eleven times at 12:30 GMT. Steinmeier later attended a Westminster Abbey memorial service with Elizabeth II, and read out a passage from 1 St John 4: 7–11 in German. The Queen and several senior royal family members also attended a remembrance concert.

Similar commemorative events were held across the United Kingdom; in Scotland, Princess Anne attended a commemoration service at Glasgow Cathedral, while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other officials laid wreaths.

Other locations

Commemorative events took place in Canada, Hong Kong, Italy, Myanmar, and Russia on the occasion of the centenary.

Ceremonies in Kenya and Zambia were scheduled for 25 November 2018; German forces fighting in Northern Rhodesia only received news of the armistice on 14 November 1918, and eventually surrendered later that month. In Voi, the Commonwealth War Cemetery hosted a small ceremony, which was attended by British and German diplomats; a Kenyan army bugler played the Last Post during the ceremony, and wreaths were laid by a Kenyan general and some local and international visitors. The Zambian government sponsored a centenary event organised by the Zambian tourism agency in the town of Mbala, arguing that attraction to the region would unlock the "tourism and investment potential of Northern Province".

Australia

A minute of silence was observed nationally in remembrance of Australian soldiers who fought and died in overseas conflicts. Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed a crowd of more than 12,000 attending during a national Remembrance Day service in Canberra. A centenary extension of the Anzac Memorial in Sydney was also opened to the public.

In addition, over a thousand people attended a commemoration at the Australian National Memorial in the French town of Villers-Bretonneux.

Belgium

National commemorations were held in the Belgian capital of Brussels. In an address, King Philippe pledged with people to keep alive the memory of the war, and to "engage together in building a world of peace." A dove and 11 pigeons were released during the memorial service.

In Ypres, a series of tributes to Commonwealth veterans was attended by the Minister-President of Flanders, Geert Bourgeois. The Last Post, traditionally performed in the evening since 1928, was additionally played at 11:00 CET for the occasion of the centenary.

In Mons, celebrations were held marking the anniversary of Canadian troops taking over the city from the Germans, in the final leg of Canada's Hundred Days. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada led a recreated Armistice parade through the city.

Hungary

The Hungarian National Bank released a series of commemorative coins on 16 October 2018, which included a silver collector coin with a face value of 10,000 Hungarian forint and a non-ferrous metal variant with a fifth of the face value.

India

A memorial service was held at the Delhi War Cemetery, where Indian and British delegates laid wreaths. Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat led the British delegation and was joined by Sir Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India, and defence attaché Brigadier Mark Goldsack.

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Indian troops and pledged to "further an atmosphere of harmony and brotherhood".

Luxembourg

A ceremony was held at the Gëlle Fra monument in the capital during the late afternoon, in the presence of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg as well as Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. Bettel also paid tribute to war casualties.

New Zealand

The Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington hosted an Armistice commemoration service, which was organised as part of the wider ''New Zealand WW100'' commemorations. A 100-gun salute was held at the Wellington waterfront, and two minutes of silence were observed at 11:00 NZDT, followed by a cacophony of noise replicating how the public initially reacted to the news of the Armistice a century prior. Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave speeches at the event.

United States

The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri hosted a ceremony in which participants and relatives of WWI veterans tolled a "bell of peace" and laid wreaths in memory of those killed in the war. The Washington National Cathedral organized a commemorative worship service.

President Donald Trump proposed that a military parade at the Capitol be held on 10 November to mark the centenary, in admiration of France's Bastille Day military parade (which Trump attended as a guest in 2017). However, Trump cancelled the proposed event in August 2018 over cost concerns, with estimates that the parade would have cost as much as US$92 million.

See also

*Armistice Day
*Centenary of the outbreak of World War I
*First World War centenary
*Paris Peace Forum
*Remembrance Day

Notes

References

Works cited

*

Further reading

* S. Sumartojo, ''Experiencing 11 November 2018 – Commemoration and the First World War Centenary'', Routledge, 2020. .

External links

AP Was There: Armistice brings World War I to an endCérémonie internationale du Centenaire de l’Armistice du 11 novembre 1918 à l’Arc de triomphe
– full video on the Élysée Dailymotion channel

{{Portal bar, World War I, Europe

2018 in Europe
November 2018 events in Europe
November 2018 events in the United States
November 2018 events in Oceania
2018 in military history
First World War centenary