World War One Was the Worlds Bloodiest Family Feud

One aspect of the war…  is the close connection among the three principal monarchs of the age, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany; King George V of England; and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. In fact, they were all cousins with each other: Wilhelm and George were first cousins, George and Nicholas were also first cousins, and Wilhelm and Nicholas were third cousins.* Source

Family tree chart of first cousins at war, from Margaret MacMillan's Brookings Essay, "The Rhyme of History: Lessons of the Great War"

(family tree image by Marcia Underwood; see essay for image credits)

 

The march in the North to commemorate their dead
We down South remember but keep silent about ours
The rights or the wrongs of the war all ponder
Between the Entante and the Central Powers.

The worker kills worker who the rich call their enemy
Many soldiers each side fought for money for family for food:
First cousins they were, the Kaiser and King
In the worlds bloodiest family feud.

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