On this day: Armistice agreement to end World War I signed
The armistice was signed in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne outside Paris; it silenced the guns within hours of its ratification.
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, a historic armistice agreement was signed, bringing an end to World War I. The conflict, which had lasted four devastating years, resulted in an estimated 20 million casualties. The war had been characterized as the "war to end all wars" and marked the greatest conflict in human history at that time.
The armistice was signed in a railway carriage in the Compiègne Forest outside Paris, and the guns fell silent within hours. Today, Armistice Day is observed as a solemn reminder of the immense human toll of mechanized warfare. Over a century later, the legacy of 1918 serves as a stark warning against the escalation of global violence.
The final moments of the war were marked by tragedy. Pvt. Henry Nicholas Gunther, an American soldier, was killed at 10:59 a.m., just one minute before the ceasefire took effect. He had been demoted from sergeant after a letter home criticized the miserable conditions on the front. For his service, the US Army posthumously restored his rank and awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross.
Meanwhile, Pvt. George Edwin Ellison, a British soldier, was the last casualty of the war, shot and killed by a sniper at 9:30 a.m. while on patrol near Mons, Belgium. His grave lies opposite that of John Henry Parr, the first British soldier killed in the conflict. Military historians estimate that on that last day, approximately 10,900 casualties occurred, with 2,738 deaths between the signing of the armistice at 5:00 a.m. and the ceasefire at 11:00 a.m.
In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Day commemorates the fallen soldiers of World War I. At 11 a.m., a two-minute silence is observed to mark the moment the guns fell silent. Ceremonies are held across the country, with King Charles leading the observances and laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in central London.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
