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When did World War I end?

HistoryWorld War I

Quick Answer

Fighting stopped with the Armistice at 11 am on 11 November 1918, and the Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919.

The Full Story

Germany signed the Armistice with the Allies in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiegne, France, at about 5 am on 11 November 1918. It came into effect at 11 am that day, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The war had begun in July 1914 and killed around 9 to 10 million soldiers along with millions of civilians. The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919, formally ended the war with Germany, exactly five years after Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. 11 November is still marked as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in many countries.

Key Facts

1.Nearly 3,000 soldiers are thought to have died on the final morning before 11 am.
2.The red poppy became a symbol of remembrance after the poem In Flanders Fields.
3.Four empires collapsed as a result of the war: German, Austro-Hungarian, Russian and Ottoman.

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"The Eleventh Hour — How World War I Finally Ended"