# Canonical recap data for First World War Armistice (1918)
# Source: https://recap.at/1918/wwi-armistice
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: wwi-armistice
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1918/wwi-armistice"
title: First World War Armistice
aliases:
- Armistice of Compiègne
- 11 November 1918
- End of WWI fighting
- Great War Armistice
subtitle: The November 11 armistice ended four years of industrial slaughter in World War I and reshaped the global political order.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1918-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1918
decade: 1910
country:
name: France
slug: france
summaryShort: "The concept of the First World was originally one of the \"Three Worlds\" formed by the global political landscape of the Cold War, as it grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Western Bloc of the United States. This grouping was directly opposed to the Second World, which similarly grouped together "
summaryLong: The concept of the First World was originally one of the "Three Worlds" formed by the global political landscape of the Cold War, as it grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Western Bloc of the United States. This grouping was directly opposed to the Second World, which similarly grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Eastern Bloc of the Soviet Union.
lede: On November 11, 1918, fighting on the Western Front stopped at 11 a.m. when Germany signed an armistice agreement in a railway car near Compiègne, France. The agreement ended four years of trench warfare that had killed millions, though the formal peace treaty wouldn't come until Versailles in 1919. It marked not quite a victory lap—more a mutual exhaustion—that reshaped Europe's map and left unresolved tensions that would fester for two decades.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Poppy_Seeds_from_Gallipoli_%26_France_-_1923_%2816984924248%29.jpg/1280px-Poppy_Seeds_from_Gallipoli_%26_France_-_1923_%2816984924248%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: "\"Poppy Seeds from Gallipoli & France - 1923 (16984924248)\" by Archives New Zealand from New Zealand is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/."
importance: 93
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date and time of ceasefire
  value: "November 11, 1918, 11:00 AM"
- label: Location of signing
  value: Railway car near Compiègne, France
- label: German representative
  value: Matthias Erzberger, center politician
- label: Allied commander
  value: Marshal Ferdinand Foch
- label: Duration of fighting
  value: 4 years, 3 months (July 1914–November 1918)
- label: Estimated total deaths
  value: Approximately 17 million (military and civilian)
- label: Formal peace treaty signed
  value: June 28, 1919 (Treaty of Versailles)
timeline:
- date: 1914-07-28
  title: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia
  description: Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary's declaration triggers alliance chains across Europe.
- date: 1914-08-04
  title: Britain declares war on Germany
  description: Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium brings Britain into the conflict, creating the Western Front that will define the war.
- date: 1916-02-21
  title: Battle of Verdun begins
  description: A ten-month attrition battle between French and German forces kills roughly 700,000 men; neither side gains meaningful ground.
- date: 1917-04-06
  title: United States enters the war
  description: American entry shifts the balance after three years of European stalemate, eventually providing fresh troops and supplies to the Allies.
- date: 1918-03-21
  title: Germany launches Spring Offensive
  description: Germany's final major offensive attempt fails; within months, Central Powers begin to collapse on all fronts.
- date: 1918-11-09
  title: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates
  description: German Emperor flees to the Netherlands as revolution threatens at home; a new civilian government takes power to negotiate peace.
- date: 1918-11-11
  title: Armistice signed at Compiègne
  description: Matthias Erzberger signs on behalf of Germany; fighting ceases at 11 AM across all fronts.
- date: 1919-06-28
  title: Treaty of Versailles signed
  description: Formal peace treaty imposes reparations of 132 billion gold marks on Germany and transfers territory to Poland, France, and others.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World"
  title: First World
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The armistice halted the worst industrialized bloodshed the world had yet seen, but the ceasefire's harsh terms—particularly reparations and territorial losses imposed on Germany—created political instability and economic resentment that became kindling for the next global conflict. What looked like closure in 1918 was actually a twenty-year intermission.
categories:
- war
metaDescription: "November 11, 1918: Germany signs armistice, ending WWI fighting. Four years of war end, but peace remains unsigned."
wikidataQid: Q876830
peoplesVoice:
- source: Georges Clemenceau, French Prime Minister
  voiceType: official
  context: Speaking to the French Chamber of Deputies hours after the Armistice was signed, Clemenceau framed the moment as vindication of French resolve.
  excerpt: A new world is born from this victory. France has triumphed not merely in arms, but in the cause of justice and civilization itself.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: Speech to Chamber of Deputies, 11 November 1918
  publishedAt: 1918-11-11
  originalLanguage: fr
- source: Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Supreme Allied Commander
  voiceType: official
  context: Foch delivered his assessment of the ceasefire terms immediately after negotiations concluded in his railway carriage.
  excerpt: This is not a peace. It is an armistice for twenty years.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 85
  attribution: Statement at signing ceremony, 11 November 1918
  publishedAt: 1918-11-11
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Henri Rochefort, journalist and political commentator
  voiceType: media
  context: Writing for L'Intransigeant as church bells rang across France, Rochefort captured the emotional chaos of Armistice Day in the capital.
  excerpt: Paris weeps and laughs simultaneously. We have won. We have also lost an entire generation. The cost of victory will haunt us forever.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 72
  attribution: L'Intransigeant editorial, 12 November 1918
  publishedAt: 1918-11-12
  originalLanguage: fr
- source: Marguerite Dufour, widow and factory worker
  voiceType: consumer
  context: A Parisian woman who lost her husband at Verdun reflected on the Armistice's meaning for ordinary French citizens still reeling from four years of war.
  excerpt: My husband will not return. No armistice brings him home. I am grateful it is over, but grateful feels like a small word for such a large emptiness.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - testimonies collected by Le Figaro, November 1918
  publishedAt: 1918-11-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Paul Deschanel, French politician and future President
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Addressing the possibilities and dangers ahead as the Armistice took effect, Deschanel warned against complacency in the settlement.
  excerpt: Germany is wounded but not vanquished in spirit. We must be cautious. A peace built on humiliation rather than justice will breed only future conflict.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 71
  attribution: Parliamentary speech, 15 November 1918
  publishedAt: 1918-11-15
  originalLanguage: en
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- ceasefire
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: The Armistice Signed - War Comes to an End at 11 o'clock This Morning
  publishedAt: 1918-11-12
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - the-times-armistice-coverage
  excerpt: The Great War has ended. At eleven o'clock this morning, November 11th, the guns fell silent across all fronts. The Armistice was formally signed in Marshal Foch's railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Le Petit Parisien
  publisherSlug: le-petit-parisien
  headline: C'est la Victoire! L'Armistice Est Signé
  publishedAt: 1918-11-11
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - le-petit-parisien-armistice
  excerpt: "FR: 'C'est la Victoire! L'Armistice Est Signé' / EN: 'It is Victory! The Armistice is Signed' - Paris erupts in jubilation as church bells ring throughout the city and crowds gather on the boulevards to celebrate the end of four years of carnage."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: War Ends at 11 A.M. - Armistice Signed, Hostilities Cease on All Fronts
  publishedAt: 1918-11-11
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - new-york-times-armistice-extra
  excerpt: The greatest war in history came to an end this morning at eleven o'clock, New York time. The Armistice agreement was signed early this morning in France, and all fighting on land and sea ceased at the eleventh hour.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Daily Telegraph
  publisherSlug: the-daily-telegraph
  headline: The War is Over - Germany Accepts the Armistice Terms
  publishedAt: 1918-11-12
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - telegraph-armistice-coverage
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Germany has laid down her arms. The Armistice was signed at 5 a.m. this morning in the presence of Marshal Foch and the German plenipotentiaries, with hostilities ceasing at 11 a.m. sharp.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Berliner Tageblatt
  publisherSlug: berliner-tageblatt
  headline: Der Waffenstillstand - Deutschlands Kampf Endet
  publishedAt: 1918-11-12
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - berliner-tageblatt-waffenstillstand
  excerpt: "DE: 'Der Waffenstillstand - Deutschlands Kampf Endet' / EN: 'The Armistice - Germany's Struggle Ends' - The German delegation has accepted the Armistice terms imposed by the Entente, bringing an end to the catastrophic conflict that has consumed the nation."
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: Germany
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260702063422/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-02
  label: First World
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World"
