Armistice Day 11-11-18

[joespaniel]

I thought it would be appropriate to post this link, on this 84th anniversary of the end of The Great War.

WWI online is a well compiled source of information about the First World War.

I highly recommend reading the section on the Christmas truce of 1914, one truly odd occurance in modern war.

 

[onejayhawk]

Originally posted by joespaniel
I thought it would be appropriate to post this link, on this 84th anniversary of the end of The Great War.

WWI online is a well compiled source of information about the First World War.

I highly recommend reading the section on the Christmas truce of 1914, one truly odd occurance in modern war.

Excellent point. This was the most horrific war mankind has yet endured. It is fitting that we honor those that gave the last fullmeasure of their honor.

J

PS The Chrstmas truce is one of my wives favorite stories. We know a german couple that was able to provide us with the other side of that story.

 

[GenMarshall]

The Armistice of WW I was on the 11th month, the 11th day, and the 11th hour in 1918. Here is a little history tidbit about on what happened on that day . On 11:00am EST it would be the 84th anniversary of the end of The Great War. (Since the war ended at 5:00am GMT +1 )

From the Historychannel.com
At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends. At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiègne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France, and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or exposure.

 

[Vrylakas]

A good commemoration, JoeS., and something worth commemorating.

It is also worth while to reflect a bit on what the young lads - on both sides - of 1914-1918 really died for. I'm not getting smarmy here; I'm thinking of what the Great War wrought. It ushered in by the most violent of means the modern age, for all it's worth. The fighting stopped 84 years ago today, but only for a while. It would resume in a more terrible form 22 years later, and still today we are struggling with the political, social and economic legacy of 1918. We are still today trying to find the answers that Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson failed to find at the Paris Peace Conference.

 

[willemvanoranje]

world war 1 isn't remembered here, since we didn't participate in it other than harvesting some refugees from Belgium and being the rendezvous point for spies and such. November 11th is St.Martin's day, as well as Foolsday (different than April 1st though) here.

 

[burak]

11.11 is the Independence Day in Poland, as we regained independence after Russian, Austrian and German empires collapsed.

 

[bigfatron]

Remembrance Day is also a chance to remember what callous bastards most politicians are by nature.

The time and date were chosen so as to be suitably 'elegant', to the pleasure of diplomats everywhere, but probably not to those who lost their lives in the unecessary last 36 hours or so of fighting, or like my neighbour when I grew up, who lost both his sight and one arm around 8am that morning....