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Armistice Day Armistice Day takes place on November each year and marks the end of the First World War. It is a day of commemoration, an occasion to remember the some 8.5 million soldiers who died across the world during the 19–18 war – as well as those lost in the conflicts that followed. At 2.05am on November 1918, after four years of conflict, a German delegation sat down in the railway carriage of Allied supreme commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch, a few hours’ north of Paris. Talks had gone on for three days, and the German delegates were close to accepting the terms for an armistice, a formal agreement to end the fighting. The Germans had been defeated after a brutal summer of attrition; over the past four months, Allied and American forces had overwhelmed the final line of German defenses in the battles of the Hundred Days Offensive. On 9 November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II had been persuaded to seek asylum in the Netherlands. In the early hours of November, final terms were laid out and at 5.am, the armistice was signed. It declared the “cessation of hostilities by land and in the air six hours after the signing”. Terms of the agreement included: the immediate German withdrawal from the territories they had acquired during the conflict; the disarmament and demobilization of the German military; and the release of Allied prisoners. The terms made it impossible for Germany to resume any fighting. This was the last of the September–November 1918 armistices between the warring nations, and peace came into effect six hours after the armistice was signed, at am – or at the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”. It has been estimated that during the time between the signing and the announcement of peace, the war produced a further ,000 casualties. The armistice was never intended to be a permanent peace treaty between the nations; this would be attempted with the Treaty of Versailles, signed seven months later. In January 1919, the leaders of 32 countries met in Paris – without Germany. Negotiations were led by the ‘big three’: British prime minister David Lloyd George; French prime minister Georges Clemenceau; and US president Woodrow Wilson. The aim of the treaty was to make sure that Germany would never again pose a military threat to the rest of Europe. It left Germany with reduced territories, a significantly smaller army and navy, and the duty to assume ‘war guilt’ and an unspecified of ‘reparations’ to the Allies. The terms of the treaty were considered harsh by many, and British prime minister David Lloyd George predicted: “We shall have to fight another war again in 25 years’ time.” Veterans Day is the official United States public holiday, observed annually on November , that honors all military veterans; that is, all persons who served in the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with other holidays; Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, celebrated in other countries that mark the anniversary of the end of World War I. Veterans Day should not be confused with Memorial Day, a U.S. public holiday in May; Veterans Day celebrates the of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day honors those who died while in military . Nor to be confused with Armed Forces Day, which occurs in May, specifically honoring those currently serving in the U.S. military. |
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11/10/2018 8:38 pm |
Frank Woodruff Buckles (born Wood Buckles, February 1, 1901 – February 27, 2011) was a United States Army corporal and the last surviving American military veteran of World War I. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 at the age of 16 and served with a detachment from Fort Riley
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11/10/2018 8:44 pm |
Florence Green the last British Service person joined the Women's Royal Air Force in September 1918 at the age of 17 where she served as an officers' mess steward. She worked in the officers' mess at RAF Marham and was also based at Narborough airfield.
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11/10/2018 8:47 pm |
John Henry Foster "Jack" Babcock (July 23, 1900 – February 18, 2010) was, at age 109, the last known surviving veteran of the Canadian military to have served in the First World War and, after the death of Harry Patch, was the conflict's oldest surviving veteran. Babcock first attempted to join the army at the age of fifteen, but was turned down and sent to work in Halifax until he was placed in the Young Soldiers Battalion in August 1917. Babcock was then transferred to the United Kingdom, where he continued his training until the end of the war.
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11/10/2018 8:49 pm |
Erich Kästner (10 March 1900 – 1 January 2008 ) was the last documented World War I veteran who fought for the German Empire (including all nationalities and ethnic groups) and the last who was born in Germany. Consequently he was the last Central Powers combatant of the Western Front. He was also the second oldest man in Germany
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Thank you for this important part of history that MUST be remembered, and thank you for recognizing Canada's very important role in World War 1.
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11/11/2018 7:52 am |
I still call it Armistice Day.
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11/11/2018 9:00 am |
Thank you for this important part of history that MUST be remembered, and thank you for recognizing Canada's very important role in World War 1.
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11/11/2018 9:04 am |
I still call it Armistice Day.
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We honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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Never forget, Semper Fidelus
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11/18/2018 6:59 pm |
We honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
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11/18/2018 6:59 pm |
Never forget, Semper Fidelus
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