A Brief History
On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in the forest of Compiègne, France, officially ending fighting at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day in the eleventh month, but fighting did not actually end at that exact time and nor did the war!
Digging Deeper
Today, Belgium, France, Serbia, and New Zealand commemorate the armistice between the Allies of World War I and Germany. The Commonwealth Nations, except Mozambique, similarly observe Remembrance Day, while the United States honors those who served its armed forces on Veterans Day, both holidays also occurring on November 11th. Given that at the time World War I was a war on an unprecedented global scale in which weapons and vehicles never before used in combat first saw action and millions died around the world, it should come as little surprise that nearly one hundred years after an armistice was finally agreed upon to end the conflict, so many countries around the world still commemorate this event.
Yet, just because an armistice is agreed upon does not mean that everyone involved instantaneously became aware of it. After all, Twitter did not exist in 1918! Thus, in two separate instances, German commanders continued military operations days or even months after the armistice of November 11th.
In the first instance, news of the armistice had not yet reached the German commander conducting operations in East Africa. This man, Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, actually took the town of Kasama following a British evacuation on November 13th. He then reached the Chambeshi River the next day only to have the British inform him of the armistice. Realizing that what the British said was true, he agreed to a ceasefire. Whereas most other German military leaders in Germany’s African colonies had surrendered relatively early on in the war, Lettow-Vorbeck not only outlasted all of them as a participant in the African theater of the war, he did not even stop his operations until after the fighting ended in Europe!
Yet, Africa is not as far away from France, where the armistice was agreed upon, as is New Guinea in the Asian and Pacific Theater of World War I. Nearly two months after the war ended in Africa, Hermann Detzner’s unit in New Guinea continued to believe the war was still ongoing until January 5, 1919. By that time, he had finally received news of the war’s end. Therefore, he wrote a letter to the Australians offering to capitulate, which he and his troops did, thereby becoming the final unit to do so.
Even so, technically, the war only officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.
Question for students (and subscribers): What date do you consider the end of World War I and why? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information on the armistice, please read the following book:
Persico, Joseph E. Eleventh Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918 World War I and Its Violent Climax. Random House, 2005.
For the memoirs of the last Germans to stop fighting, please see these books:
Detzner, Hermann. Vier Jahre Unter Kannibalen: Von 1914 Bis Zum Waffenstillstand Unter Deutscher Flagge Im Unerforschten Innern Von Neuguinea (Classic Reprint) (German Edition). Forgotten Books, 2018.
Von Lettow-Vorbeck, Paul Emil. My Reminiscences of East Africa: The East Africa Campaign of the First World War by the Most Notable German Commander. LEONAUR, 2010.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="663 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=663">169 Comments
Reading about this war is a challenge; it’s important to remember the sacrifices made by those for whom Armistice/Veterans day is set aside, but equally important to question the political motives for which their sacrifices were deemed necessary. Was entry into the first World War, from America’s standpoint, necessary? All America received from the war was a couple decades of peace before the inevitable reopening of hostilities (which could be argued to have been a direct result of unrighteous victor’s punishing the equally unrighteous enemy), a multitude of early and unnecessary graves, and a precedent that paved the way for America’s transition from non-interventionist to world policeman.
It must have been a relief when the war ended. All of those who fought in the war deserve to be commended for all of their hard work because so many died, became permanently injured or mentally scarred for seeing a friend die in combat. We cannot take for granted what men and women like these do for our freedom. Where there is freedom there is sacrifice.
I could see that even if a treaty was signed, it may take a while for word to get out to wherever the rest of the war is taking place…they couldn’t just check Twitter to see any updates.
Even though this war didn’t end on that exact date, it was still a relief for many families to finally see an end to the war.
This just goes to show how slow news traveled back then. Thank god for the internet and social media!
Oh my goodness, it’s crazy that units continued to fight because they were unaware of the armistice
Interesting, I have often wondered what happened, how the news got around about ending or even going a new direction. Obviously pretty slowly.
It’s amazing how far we’ve come in a short period of time with our advances in technology and our ability to communicate that way.
So glad that technology is where it is today !
Communication is key. See what happens when you forget to tell someone something? They fight wars long after the ceasefire is in effect.
Hard to believe that the fighting went on for months… communication is KEY! — DAVID WARDLE
I think that sometimes we think that the world of the past is like the world of the present. We definitely take advantage of how quick we are able to communicate across the world. That these battles went on a whole TWO MONTHS past the end of the war is just crazy to imagine!
Armistice != end of the war. Why this is unknown by most people is puzzling.
After reading the name Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, familiarity struck; turns out this guy was a character in one of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles I watched a few weeks ago (don’t judge).
So glad we have come so far with technology and are able to communicate across the world.
communication has come a long way
This reminds me a lot of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812
Communications has improved a lot since then!
Great piece of information
This is a fun fact to impress fellow history scholars with
Interesting to see how news traveled then compared to now. With the click of a button we can know just about anything anywhere.
It is sad that we did not have the technology to communicate that the war ended
Imagine how upset the soldiers that fought for 2 more months would have been when they found out fighting had ended…
Even more so for the Japanese soldiers that fought for years after WWII ended.
This passage really shows the importance of communication. If news would have traveled faster about the treaty then lives could have been spared. I cant imagine how the soldiers felt when they heard the news that they were fighting for a war that had already ended!
It is funny how we learn what history wants us to learn. So many teachers tell us that the war ended with the combination of all the elevens. However in reality people were still losing their lives months after the treaty was signed.
The concept of the war ending on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month is such an iconic concept in history. I can’t remember any mention in previous history courses that war continued around the world. Many people seem to recall this aspect of history incorrectly because of the pivotal moment on that day.
Dear Matthew,
For review purposes, you may also enjoy http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-battles-fought-war-ended.php
Best,
Dr. Zarzeczny
It is strange to think about the date of the war ending. It’s interesting to read about each individual war along with how and when they ended.
It is crazy that they chose all the elevens! It is interesting and unique! Great article!
It’s interesting that some countries continued fighting because they had not heard the news. Communication has come a long way since then.
I think this shows how important communication is, and without it so many mistakes and misconceptions can be made.
It’s surprising how quickly messages are able to be transmitted nowadays. It’s crazy to hear that these messages took months to be received and then sometimes weren’t believed.
it did come as little surprise that nearly one hundred years after an
armistice was finally agreed upon to end the conflict, so many countries
around the world still commemorate this event.
It’s difficult for us to fathom in the 21st Century that everyone wouldn’t know simultaneously that an armistice was made. Also, I kind of wonder how long it took the German commander to realize that the British were telling the truth and not just trying to trick him.
It is interesting how long it took for word to travel then.
I wonder if prior to the treaty signing if anyone tried to trick the other troops by saying the war had ended, if not it’s a good idea!
This article does make me wonder how the word of a wars’ end was spread to all soldiers. Never really thought of that before.
I can’t believe how long it took for news to travel back then, and you look at today and our news is almost instant.
The amount of time needed for word to travel was weird. I think it is funny that they chose all elevens. This made me think more about history.
It is sad that people still continued to kill each other after the armistice just because travel took so long. I wonder how many other wars had similar instances.
I cant believe that the continued to fight for nearly two months after the war ended in Africa. If only they had the technology we use today they could have saved many lives.
I always forget that in the past, word took longer to get than it does now.
No one can really expect the war to stop because only two people are siging the document. Back then they did not have a way to tell all the people fighting that it was over. So of course there going to just keep fighting.
I guess it was normal for people to actually end the fighting a while after a treaty was signed. Word of mouth and letters always took forever to get around back then.
Well they didn’t have the advanced technology that we do today to get messages immediately so this isn’t too surprising. It is funny though.
This is interesting. I never knew that it didn’t end exactly at that time. I guess it makes sense because technology was far behind from what it is today.
I knew it did happen exactly how it is said but hey history is written not always 100% true because it has so many hands in to create it. Plus it sounds better.
It’s hard to imagine a world without instant communication. We are so used to being able to tell someone something in a couple seconds with a text message, I couldn’t imagine not being able to reach someone for months.
I thinks is slightly ridiculous that fighting continued for so long after the official ending.
It’s amazing how much technology has developed. People now a days forget that it took a lot longer to spread the word that the war ended. So I can see why people kept fighting even though the war was over.
Not surprising that fighting did not end for a while based on the technology they had during the time period.
Interesting to see how much communication technology has evolved. I did not know it took so long for the war to officially end.
It makes sense that it would take time for the message to get to all of the troops. It is amazing how different communication is today. It is instantaneous. The progress that has occurred in that amount of time is monumental; I can’t imagine what will occur over the next 100 years.
We could not communicate as easily as we can today makes sense
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month sounds so much better than june 28 1919.
Technology and the way we communicated today compared to past times is insane. Very interesting
communication has taken a huge step forward. amazing how you cant walk the halls without seeing somebodys head down glued to their phones. i personally dont like the shunning out world where we are so “in love” with our phones. unfortunate the war lasted longer than it actually did since communication was not very good back then.
Communication is important with anything, but i do wish we didn’t have some things like facebook and cell phones and all of that.
I had never really thought about the issue of communication after the wars were over in previous history. It makes sense that some of the military commanders would still continue to fight after the armistice. It is hard to see how that would happen in modern days because of all of the technology and means of communication we now have.
Communication is crucial in a war. I suppose that I have never considered how news would travel of an armistice during a time with limited communication. It is crazy how much technology has improved over the years.
Usually I am not the biggest fan of social media, but in this instance it would have been super useful. Its crazy to think that military operations continued even after such an agreement because it took that long to get the word out in what happened. Its crazy to think how accessible such news is today compared to a hundred years ago.
Due to the lack of technology in order to communicate, it is no shock that a world war did not stop on the drop of a dime. Back then it would take much longer to relay the message, whereas today you could just shoot someone a text or as Ellen mentioned, check social media.
Communication is key in anything in life, whether it is with friends, family, etc. It is especially crucial in the time of war and during those times when communication was hard I can not imagine how tough it would have been to spread news or any other form of communication to someone in your squadron.
I realize that social media or phones were not in use back then so people could not be informed of the armistice soon enough, but fighting even months after it was signed is crazy! I thought people would inform each other of such a big agreement as soon as possible since communication is the key to everything.
It is a shame that lives were lost after the treaty was signed. Communication between troops and commands were clearly not in the greatest shape during this war.
I can’t imagine fighting a brutal war losing you’re soldiers in battle only to find out the war is over and you didn’t know! Days after wouldn’t be so bad but months after! It would be awful to learn the men you lost during that time could have been safely heading home.
To agree with Morgan, fighting a battle that as already been over for 6 months and losing troops when all fighting should of stopped is crazy. Goes to show once again how important technology is and how thousands of lives would of been saved if properly communicated.
Imagine being the family of a soldier that had been killed after the war had ended. It is amazing how much we take the ease of communication for granted.
Its truly sad that people continued to lose their lives and fight because communication was so small and nowhere near it is today. A couple days I could understand but 6 months of fighting.. thats awful.
I never actually knew the history of Armistice Day. Nor did I know that even after the armistice was agreed to, battling continued. Thankfully we have modern communications today that help us spread important messages in times of war.
The eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month is false and yet it is still seen to be a great time and a memorable moment. In addition there was a lot of miscommunication as to when the war ended. Thank goodness the German troops listed to the French when they said that they war had ended or who knows what would have happened.
It’s not surprising that the message took awhile to reach every troop stationed around the world. It is unfortunate that many people died because the communication wasn’t more advanced, but war isn’t exactly an organized thing nor is it suppose to accommodate to everyone.
It makes sense that the fighting continued because it probably took a long time for the news to spread of the armistice being established on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. What are the odds that that is when Germany and the Allied forces. What a relief it must have been when the world finally reached everyone that the Great War had ended!
It is sad to learn that more lives were lost even though the war was over. Technology was not as advanced at the time, but instances like this make you think what more could have been done? I wonder if the troops ever found out what had actually happened.
The limitations of technology and information back during World War I cost more lives to be lost after the armistice to end the war. I wonder how many more soldiers died because the generals were unaware that the war was over.
It does not suprise me that it took a little time for news to reach about the war ending, but it is sad that more soldiers had to lose their lives because of it. It must have been a great feeling once everyone was aware that the war was over!
It is sad that because of the lack of communication more lives continued to be lost even after the armistice was signed. Communication is such an important thing and we are lucky that it is so easy to communicate these days. It must have been a relief to the others when they found out the war had ended.
It was not as easy to communicate in the early 20th century as it is today. This resulted in a longer war than necessary during World War I. Unfortunately, this also probably means more lives lost, which shows us how important worldwide communication is today.
It is incredible that troops kept on fighting around the world long after the armistice. I never thought of it before but it makes sense. Communication was relatively poor and word spread slowly. This is another example of how lack of communication speed caused more deaths and injuries. Lucky for us today we can typically prevent mistakes like that.
I did not know other countries commemorated or remembered the men and women lost to war on November 11th and I also did know why it was held on November 11th for this reason. Really cool to see nations respect their soldiers in similar ways.
I have never read about this particular topic but it does not surprise me that some still continued fighting after the day the armistice was signed. It probably took a little while for the news to reach everyone and even then, people are stubborn.
Interesting to think some may die after the armistice was signed, but not everyone can get an email or text at same time back then,
This explains why here in the US, Veterans Day was known as Armistice Day in the past. Given the slow speed of communication at that time, it does not surprise me that outlying groups continued fighting after the armistice was signed.
Just think about all the communication errors they had back then!
I never factored in how slow news traveled, even in 1918. They had telephones back then so I din’t understand why it took so long anyway.
I think we just use the eleventh for the date and time so it is easier for us to remember. Does the exact day and time really matter?
It is very hard for me to imagine a world without instant communication. My whole life I have access to telephones or email that allowed me to stay connected.
communication was limited so for everyone to get the message at the same time that the war was over was not likely
I could understand why it took time back then for those to become aware of the treaty. Communication was much more limited than today, than in 1918.
I could not imagine having to wait so long to find out that the war ended. Now, everything is so instant.
It’s unfortunate that a large amount of people/soldiers were unaware the war ended, but we have to take into consideration that this was, after all, a world war. It takes time for everyone to find out the official word. -ACL
Its interesting to learn that the war didn’t end when they said it did.
I had no idea the war wouldn’t have ended when they said it did?
this is a very interesting fact that not many are aware of.
I wonder what the communication would have been like then if they had the resources and technology available that we have today. That’s something that I always think about with historical events. Information in the late 1800’s early 1900’s must have taken so long to receive. I wonder if all the wars America has been through would have been reduced if better technology and resources were provided.
funny how most people aren’t even aware of the 11th day 11th hour theory
It’s hard to imagine that some soldiers and people didn’t even know the war had ended because with today’s technology the whole world would’ve haven been able to know about it.
It’s amazing to think the war was over and men didn’t know and continued to lose their lives even though peace was met.
It is not unimaginable that this occurred with the lack technology and resources available.
This article really shows how dedicated Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck was to the german war effort.
This article shows how difficult it used to be to get communications back and forth to the troops. Makes you wonder how many lives could have been saved if they heard the news earlier.
It really took a long time for information to reach other units. This could not have caused anything but chaos.
Why does this seem to happen every time a treaty is signed, darned slow communications. Example War of 1812, WW2 in the Pacific.
We have grown so accustomed to information being instantaneous that it is hard to imagine troops going days without knowing the war was over!
It would be hard as a soldier or family member in the war and waiting days to find out if it was over! I am thankful for how easy it is to communicate with others today and thankful that information can be found out in an instant today.
It is understandable that they still had their troops prepared because of the lack of communication during this time. It would be hard to make sure that so many people are on the same page when they do not have the communication tools that we have today.
It’s crazy how slow communication was during this time. I couldn’t imagine this being the case today.
As the movie tropic thunder goes on, the same situation happened here in world war 1. no form of communication then they wont get the message
With veteran’s day approaching, it makes you wonder if many people know that it went on much longer than November 11th.
With the limitations in communication I can understand why not everyone would become aware of the end of the war at the same time. In modern day it is so much easier to get information out due to the many advances in technology.
As today is veteran’s day, I find it interesting that it is not known that the 11th is not when the war ended. If it is not, I think it is okay to celebrate veterans day everyday no matter when the war ended.
I find it kind of strange that Mozambique was the only country that did not celebrate their veterans. Overall, I find it ironic that I am writing/ reading about this article on Veterans day. I agree with Taylor that it is okay to celebrate veterans day every day.
I did not know that is why veterans day falls on Nov 11! This article reminds us of how long communication could take back then.
I was not at all aware that was the reason that Veterans are honored that day! That is so interesting. I agree with Ben and Taylor that veterans should be honored always, no matter what day of the year it is. They have deserve all the recognition that we can give to them after all of the incredible bravery that they have presented us with.
The yesterday was the veterans day. It is so good that I learn the history at this time period. Since read this article, I began to know about this day. Before reading this article, I had no idea about the origin of the Veterans Day.
Its shocking to think that the war continued on for days, even months, just because the military lacked proper communication at the time. Lives could have been saved if everyone knew the war was over as soon as the armistice agreement was signed.
Just because an agreement is made does not necessarily mean that all involved agree with it, and in this case people continued to fight. Whether it was because they had not heard of the agreement or not, the war continued to be fought after the agreement was made.
This goes to show how important communication is and how much of a difference it an have in war.
I’m very surprised that the war continued and lack of communication.
The lack of communication is what amazed me. It truly shows how important communication really is.
The good thing , is that they still tried to save the lives of people and end the war but of course its like saying im going to wake up soon as my alarm clock goes off, but then you put it on snooze, LEAST YOU TRIED. haha
I know that communication was tough back then but for a war to be continued two months in one area, after it was stopped in another really makes me shake my head at the realization that so many lives were lost because of poor communication! Very informing read!
Lack of communications is always a large issue
This is something I’ve realized time and time again how poor the communication and technology was then and how much it’s advanced since then.
I feel as if the lack of communication was the cause to many wars, a lot of misunderstandings. You don’t see a lot wars now a days and the communication and technology is way farther advanced.
I never knew so many countries celebrate a holiday like the United States does on November 11.
I believe that this was a huge part in lack of communication.
It is amazing that communication was not rushed to these units to ceasefire and operations!
I have always been a huge advocate for strong communication, and this article is an example of why it is so important!
Its so interesting to see how technology has changed over the years. Back then they had such a lack of communication resources that some people didn’t even know that a war was happening.
Never realized that commmunication was such a major factor
It makes sense that they were unable to communicate the message to everyone. When you are out in the field it is hard just to communicate with your own team of guys, let alone troops in a different area of the country.
I wonder how many lives were lost during the period they were trying to get word to everyone in the field! Did they not employ the use of messenger pigeons to get the word out?
The thought of loss of communication is scary and this shows why.
I thought it was weird that several weapons and vehicles that has never been used and they did then.
Just wonder how many lives were lost during that time
It sounds odd that there would be fighting well after the war had essentially ended, but given the state of communications technology back then it makes perfect sense .
This is interesting because it seems many times in history we are told the war or this was signed on this date yet come to find out happened on a different date.
Whenever there is a communication break down there is never a good result.
It is interesting how different facts can be from what we have always been told in history books.
The war did not officially end until June 28th 1919. This was very interesting, always remember that communication is key.
I think it’s also important to mention that the treaty also brought about armistice day. This day would come to be what we know now as Veterans day, which is why veterans day is on November 11th.
Word traveled very slow in that time. Evidently pretty slow because it took from November 11th to June 28th for everyone to get the memo!
I am not surprised that there was a discrepancy in the time that was claimed to be the end of the war and when it actually ended. Saying that it ended on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at eleven just sounds too good to be true.
I feel silly to admit this but even though I know the significance f Veterans Day, I did not know when it started.
I could not imagine the difficulty of communications during the wars back then. The length of time and accuracy of couriers had to be horrible.
Communication wasn’t as easy then as it is now. It’s no surprise that everyone didn’t get the message about the order to stop fighting until after the time where everyone was supposed to stop fighting. Communication is so much easier now that everyone would be able to get the message about important things like that.
I am not surprise that it took several months for war to stop, because communications was not really good back then. Even today it would take several hours for the information to get to bottom echelon of military ranks.
Wars aren’t easy to stop thats for sure. But the war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919.
It didn’t surprise me that it took long for the fighting to stop. There wasn’t much technology back then so it took time for the word to get around.
It took communication so long due to them no having technology and the way that they had to get information from one source to the next. So taking as long as it did to end all the fighting is truly not surprising but officially signing the Treaty of Versailles officially ended the War.
It is understandable that they would keep fighting until news reached them that the war was over.
In history book, movies, or even from relatives telling stories you hear that a war began or ended on a particular date. I often wondered how the end date was determined, how did everyone know that on this date the war is now over.
I couldn’t imagine that a war could just stop as soon as a paper is signed. It would take time to get the information to all involved. Say one side got the information but the enemy had not they still have to fight to protect themselves.
I wonder (if this war ever ends) if it could ever completely stop in one day, even with all of our technology and communication abilities.
The pain, the fight, the emotion, the beliefs, the morals… all of it, can’t just suddenly stop all in one day can it? We spend our lives forming our opinions and beliefs for them to just change in one day. I suppose we all have our internal wars that continue after the physical war stops.
It takes time nowadays to get the word out to people about current events. I can’t imagine how difficult that process would have been 100 years ago.
I don’t think it is very logical just because someone signs a piece of paper that it automatically ends war. That is the problem with war, it’s impacts have a lasting effect.
This article reminds us all of the difference in communication then and now. It is attractive to use the
phrase 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, but just because the armistice was signed, it could not be communicated to all military personnel as quickly in 1918.
It’s so weird to hear November 11th be called something different in another country honoring veterans when we call it Veteran’s Day.
I find it very strange that just a signature on a piece of paper can call a war to end. Shouldn’t there be more to it than that?
I never gave thought to the actual end date of the war, I just considered it be be what it says to be. Interesting article.
I still say the war ended on the eleventh day of the eleventh month on the eleventh hour even though others were not aware, after all the agreement was signed. If it was modern day we news would have spread faster.
Wars are not something that can just stop in a second, but it was interesting to read about this. Our communication today is much more quick and efficient.
Very interesting. Not something I thought about but definitely true. Back then word did not spread fast so I can understand the war not “ending” as it has been said.
It’s crazy how slow the communication was back then! It seems like now once something is going on in the world, we have an alert come to our phones, something pops up on the tv/radio, social media, etc.
The world war I was made millions of people died around the world. Thats a lot of people. Later, German military had surrendered early in the war. Sometime, I do not think when people are surrendering the war because they are weak, it is because they want to alive, and be peaceful.
It is an interesting article by showing many people were died in the world war I. Germany military surrender in the early of the war is the smart way to keep their native citizen alive.
Pretty interesting in the fact that there are people who believe that the war ended on November 11. This helped clarify when it ended for me, as I was confused.
I find it very interesting how countries have different relations with each other, like the examples in this article.
It is difficult to think of the lives lost because there was a delay in communication about the Armistice.