Armistice - End of World War I
The armistice ending the Great War was signed at 11am
November 11, 1918
The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day
World War I ended on November 11, 1918, when the Armistice between the Allied Powers and Germany came into effect at 11:00 AM, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The war had lasted over four years and involved most of the world's major powers, organized into two opposing alliances. The fighting had taken place primarily in Europe, but also across the Middle East, Africa, and at sea. By the time the guns fell silent, the conflict had killed an estimated 17 to 20 million people, including civilians, making it one of the deadliest wars in history. Soldiers on the Western Front simply laid down their weapons and, in many cases, wept.
What Led to the Armistice
By the autumn of 1918, Germany's military situation had become desperate. The Hundred Days Offensive, a sustained Allied advance that began in August 1918, had broken through German lines and pushed deep into territory Germany had held since 1914. Germany's allies, including Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, were collapsing. Revolution was spreading inside Germany itself, and Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on November 9, 1918. Germany's new civilian government signed the Armistice two days later, agreeing to withdraw troops, surrender vast quantities of military equipment, and accept occupation of German territory on the western side of the Rhine River.
A Peace That Set the Stage for Another War
The formal peace settlement, the Treaty of Versailles, was signed in June 1919. It imposed heavy reparations on Germany, stripped away its overseas colonies, reduced its military, and forced it to accept sole responsibility for the war through the controversial "war guilt clause." Many historians argue that the harshness of these terms created the economic despair and political resentment in Germany that allowed Adolf Hitler to rise to power in the 1930s, ultimately leading to World War II. The Armistice of November 11 is commemorated as Remembrance Day in many countries, a day to honor those who served and died in all wars. Compare how the American Civil War ended.