The Armistice of 11 November 1918 marked a historic moment in world history, as it brought an end to the First World War, or World War I, that had ravaged large parts of Europe and beyond. The signing of the armistice was a significant moment for the Entente, which had been engaged in a bitter struggle against the Central Powers, led by Germany. The truce was signed at Le Francport near Compiègne, following negotiations initiated by the German government with the American President Woodrow Wilson. The basis for the ceasefire was the earlier declared "Fourteen Points" by President Wilson, which later formed the basis of the German surrender at the Paris Peace Conference the following year.

Top right: Photo Credit: USAMHI Marshal Foch's Train. Caption: This train car was used to hold negotiations with the Germans and where the armistice was signed at 5 a.m., on Nov. 11, 1918. (WWI Signal Corps Collection). This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States. Source: Wikipedia. Click to enlarge.

The cessation of hostilities, which came into force at 11:00 a.m. Central European Time on 11 November 1918, was signed by the Allied Supreme Commander, French Marshal Ferdinand Foch. The terms of the armistice, largely written by Foch, included the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, the withdrawal of German forces from west of the Rhine, Allied occupation of the Rhineland and bridgeheads further east, the preservation of infrastructure, the surrender of aircraft, warships, and military materiel, the release of Allied prisoners of war and interned civilians, eventual reparations, no release of German prisoners and no relaxation of the naval blockade of Germany.

The armistice was formally announced to the British public by Prime Minister David Lloyd George in a subjoined official communiqué issued from the Press Bureau at 10:20 a.m. on 11 November 1918. An official communique was published by the United States at 2:30 pm the same day. In Paris, news of the signing was officially announced at around 9:00 a.m., with Georges Clemenceau, the Prime Minister of France, receiving French Marshal Foch shortly thereafter.

At 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918, the first peace-gunshot was fired from Fort Mont-Valérien in Paris, signaling the end of hostilities. Although the information about the imminent ceasefire had spread among the forces at the front in the hours before, fighting in many sections of the front continued right until the appointed hour. At 11 a.m., there was some spontaneous fraternization between the two sides, but in general, reactions were muted. On the Allied side, euphoria and exultation were rare. There was some cheering and applause, but the dominant feeling was silence and emptiness after 52 exhausting months of war.

Middle right: Men of U.S. 64th Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, celebrate the news of the Armistice, November 11, 1918. This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States. Source: U.S. National Archives. Click to enlarge.

In a solemn hearing before the esteemed Committee on Inquiry of the National Assembly on 18 November 1919, precisely a year following the catastrophic conclusion to the Great War, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, a towering figure in the annals of German history, emphatically declared with great conviction that the colossal defeat of the German Army was a direct consequence of the insidious act of treachery inflicted upon them - an act that had been insidiously perpetrated by their fellow countrymen. He cited an eminent English general who had once perceptively remarked that the German Army was dealt a lethal blow by a cowardly stab in the back.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power in Germany. To legitimize their rule, they adopted the conspiracy theory that the Weimar Republic was the result of betrayal by "November criminals" who had destroyed the nation's dignity and military honor in order to take control. The Nazi propaganda machine effectively characterized the Weimar era as an era of political corruption, societal degeneration, and national disgrace, with "honest national opposition" being oppressed and persecuted ruthlessly over the course of 14 years under the rule of Jewish, Marxist, and cultural Bolshevik leaders. However, historians both in Germany and abroad have unanimously rejected these myths. Evidence reveals that the German army had been in a precarious situation, having no reserves left to withstand the United States' entry into the war, and having already lost the war militarily by the end of 1918. Such an assessment of the Weimar era provides a much more nuanced, historically grounded understanding of the events that led to Hitler's rise to power.

The stress of 'Total War'

The idea, or concept of “Total War” was fraught with pitfalls and risk for select governments during the Great War – Germany proved a key example of the inherent dangers. Nations stood to lose the fruits of earlier conquests – as Hamilton and Herwig offer, Germany stood to lose overseas possessions should a European war occur. (Hamilton and Herwig, 2004. p.227) Total War in this new industrial age meant that those countries which had the economic means to do so – put their nations at risk for the potential of an economic collapse by complete mobilization; even if this economic mobilization was only defensive in nature and not imperialistic. Hew Strachan writes that “Berlin’s aggressive policy of Weltpolitik and unrestrained navalism after 1900 had alarmed most of Europe” which could have only evolved as a product of the industrial revolution; that was radically different from previous methods of waging war.(Strachan, 1998. p.11)

Governments during wartime and post-war

Britain, America, France, and Germany were well-suited to withstand the rigors of Total War more so than the other belligerents due to their rapid industrialization in the mid-19th Century. The early 20th Century was a transformational period for those businesses known as the “Merchants of Death,” that which changed warfare; it was also a period which changed many European political systems. As John Turner discusses these political systems in Chapter twelve’s “The Challenge to Liberalism” in The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War “For the most part, the left won in the defeated nations. Violent revolution overthrew the monarchical regimes of Germany and Russia. The Austro-Hungarian empire shattered into fragments. The Ottoman sultanate succumbed to the nationalist and secular insurgency of Kemal Ataturk.”

Bottom right: Armistice Day page from the New York Times. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. Source: Wikipedia. Click to enlarge.

Collapse of authoritarian governments

In Decisions for War, 1914-1917, authors Richard F. Hamilton and Holger H. Herwig suggest that it was the personal leadership shortcomings of the monarchs in Germany and Austria that led to the end of their respective reigns after the war. As heirs to their monarchy, they were empowered without question or qualification. The Ottoman Empire ultimately failed over a long period of time due to the rise of nationalism throughout Europe.The needs brought about by the idea of Total War that lingered following the Great War included alliances, nationalism, and militarism. Alliances formed during the Great War were solidified and reemerged at the onset of the Second World War. The disintegration of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 is an example of rising nationalism effecting change. The interwar years saw the continued rise of rapid industrialization in America, Britain, Europe, and Russia. Although the Versailles Treaty severely limited Germany militarily in 1919, the armaments needs of other countries effected by militarism and growing nationalism were more easily enabled by the continued advances of the industrial revolution.

Bibliography

Beckett, Ian F. The Great War: 1914-1918. London: Routledge, 2014.

Ferguson, Niall. The Pity of War: Explaining World War I. New York: Basic Books, 1999.

Hamilton, Richard F., and Holger H. Herwig. Decisions for War, 1914-1917. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Herwig, Holger H. The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918. London: Arnold, 1997.

Lloyd, Nick. The Western Front: A History of the Great War, 1914-1918. New York: Liveright Publishing, 2021.

Meyer, G. J. A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918. New York: Bantam, 2007.

Stevenson, David. 1914-1918: The History of the First World War. London: Penguin, 2004.

Strachan, Hew. The First World War: Volume I: To Arms. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.