When the First World War began in August 1914, few expected the conflict to continue beyond Christmas. Over the next few months, however, it was clear that this would not happen. The conflict, which had already spread beyond Europe, included large movements of imperial colonies in Africa and Asia. Later, other independent nations such as Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, China and Japan joined the fighting. It was not until 1918 that the end of the war was in sight. In October of the same year, an armistice between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies ended the fighting in the Middle East. A few days later, the disintegrating Austro-Hungarian Empire signed an armistice with Italy. On November 11, 1918, after more than four years of terrible fighting and the loss of millions of lives, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. Although fighting continued elsewhere, the armistice between Germany and the Allies was the first step towards the end of the First World War. The global response has been one of mixed feelings: relief, celebration, disbelief and a deep sense of loss.
The terms of the armistice deprived Austria of any power to resume war if it was inclined to do so. The army should be completely and immediately demobilized. The Austrian brigades fighting with the Germans were to be withdrawn. All the territories occupied by Austria since the beginning of the war had to be evacuated. Military and railway equipment in the evacuated area is expected to remain intact. The German troops of the Austrian army were to be expelled. Half of the army, artillery and ammunition was to be handed over to the Allies. Prisoners of war in Austrian hands should be repatriated immediately without reciprocity. A large and specified number of battleships, cruisers, destroyers and submarines should be handed over, and the remaining warships should be concentrated, disarmed and placed under Allied supervision.
Freedom of movement in all parts of Austrian territory and the occupation of strategic points should be granted to the armed forces of the Entente. Freedom of navigation in the Adriatic, the Danube and all territorial waters, as well as the right to dismantle the fortifications of inland waterways, should also be granted. Strict conditions have been introduced against sabotage, obfuscation or escape. Although the armistice ended the fighting, it had to be extended three times until the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919 and entered into force on January 10, 1920. It was even worse for the German population, who were so hungry that they threatened to revolt. Germany had no choice but to seek peace. On November 8, they began discussing a “ceasefire” – also known as a “ceasefire” – and on November 11, they had signed the papers in a railway car in France. On 3 October 1918, the liberal Prince Maximilian of Baden was appointed German Chancellor (Prime Minister), replacing Georg von Hertling to negotiate an armistice. [4] After lengthy discussions with the emperor and assessments of the political and military situation in the Reich, the German government sent a message to President Wilson on October 5, 1918 to negotiate the terms on the basis of a recent speech in his speech and the previously stated “Fourteen Points.”[4] In the next two exchanges, Wilson`s allusions “did not convey the idea that the abdication of the emperor was an essential condition for peace.
The empire`s leading statesmen were not yet ready to contemplate such a monstrous possibility. [5] As a precondition for negotiations, Wilson called for Germany`s withdrawal from all occupied territories, cessation of submarine activities, and abdication of the emperor, writing on October 23: “If the U.S. government is now to deal with Germany`s military masters and monarchical autocrats, or whether it will likely have to deal with them later in relation to the German Reich`s international obligations, it must not demand peace negotiations, but capitulation.” [6] The armistice of November 11, 1918 is the armistice signed at francport near Compiègne, which puts an end to the land, sea and air fighting of the First World War between the Allies and their last adversary, Germany. Earlier armistices had been agreed with Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Also known as the Armistice of Compiègne from the place where it was signed at 5:45 am.m.m. by the Allied commander-in-chief, the Frenchman Marshal Ferdinand Foch[1], it entered into force at 11:00.m.m. The Paris period of 11 November 1918 marked a victory for the Allies and a defeat for Germany, although formally not a surrender. There have been very few negotiations. The Germans were able to correct some impossible demands (for example, the dismantling of more submarines than their fleet possessed), extended the withdrawal schedule, and filed their formal protest against the harshness of the Allied conditions. But they could not refuse to sign. Sunday, 10. In November 1918, the German newspapers in Paris were shown to inform them that the emperor had abdicated.
On the same day, Ebert ordered Erzberger to sign. The cabinet had already received a message from Paul von Hindenburg, the head of the German high command, asking that the armistice be signed even though Allied conditions could not be improved. [14] [15] In the West, the imminent collapse of the German army prompted Germany to adopt an armistice. The Allied delegation, led by supreme allied commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch, largely ignored US President Woodrow Wilson`s Fourteen Points for Peace and left no room for negotiation. The German delegation had 72 hours to accept the conditions, which were deliberately strict to prevent Germany from resuming fighting. These included the complete demilitarization, the evacuation of France, Belgium, and Alsace-Lorraine (an area annexed by Germany in 1871 after the German-French War), and the immediate release of Allied prisoners of war and interned civilians. General Weygand, Admiral Wemyss and Marshal Foch after the signing of the armistice with Germany at the end of the First World War had to evacuate all the occupied territories everywhere. The illegal treaties of Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest were annulled. Germany was to hand over 5,000 pieces of light and heavy artillery, 25,000 machine guns, 3,000 mine launchers, 1,700 aircraft, 5,000 locomotives, 150,000 wagons and 5,000 trucks. All this should be in perfect condition. All submarines were to be handed over, as well as 10 battleships, 6 battlecruisers, 8 light cruisers and 50 destroyers.
The remaining warships were to be disarmed and placed under Allied supervision. Prisoners of war in German hands were to be returned without reciprocity. The entire region on the left bank of the Rhine was to be occupied by the Allied armies, and at Mainz, Koblenz and Cologne three bridgeheads were to be built, each with a radius of eighteen miles. A six-mile-wide territorial voyage on the right bank of the Rhine was to form a neutral zone. The duration of the ceasefire was one month, with provisions for an extension if necessary. In the early morning of November 11, Erzberger and Foch met for the final negotiations. According to Lowry, the German envoy did his best to convince Foch to make the deal less stringent. Foch made some small changes, including the fact that the Germans were allowed to keep some of their weapons. Finally, just before sunrise, the agreement was signed. The news of the signing of the armistice was officially announced around 9.m in Paris. An hour later, Foch, accompanied by a British admiral, went to the Ministry of War, where he was immediately received by Georges Clemenceau, the French Prime Minister.
At 10:50 a.m. .m .m., Foch gave this general order: “Hostilities will cease on the entire front of November 11 at 11 a.m.m French times The Allied troops will not exceed the line reached at that time and at that time until further notice. Five minutes later, Clemenceau, Foch and the British admiral went to the Élysée.[25] During the first shot from the Eiffel Tower, the Ministry of War and the Élysée fly flags, while bells ring in Paris. Five hundred students gathered in front of the ministry and called Clemenceau, who appeared on the balcony. Clemenceau exclaimed: “Long live France!” – the crowd repeated it. At 11:00 a.m .m, the first peace shot was fired from Fort Mont-Valérien, telling the people of Paris that the ceasefire had been reached, but that the population already knew it in official circles and in the newspapers. [26] The agreement marked a victory in World War 1 for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not formally a surrender. World War 1 ended on November 11, 1918, when the armistice was signed by Germany and the Allies in Compiègne, France. Henry Gunther, an American, is generally regarded as the last soldier to die during World War I. He was killed 60 seconds before the armistice came into effect, while attacking astonished German troops who knew the armistice was imminent. He had been discouraged by his recent downgrade and was apparently trying to restore his reputation. [29] [30] In 1915, the Allies attempted to break the deadlock with an amphibious invasion of Turkey, which had joined the Central Powers in October 1914, but after heavy bloodshed, the Allies were forced to retreat in early 1916.
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