Wow 100 years since the end of the war to end all wars. I was in Paris during the anniversary of the First Battle of the Marne. It is crazy to think that since then I have moved twice, changed jobs, gotten married, and have a two year old daughter while 100 years ago the 4.5 years were spent with Europe on fire and hordes of young men pointlessly dying for God, King, and Empire.
It is also very sad to think that despite being an armistice this not the end of peace. With the German revolution, and Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire falling apart, much of Eastern Europe and the Middle East was in chaos. The next years brought more wars and revolutions eventually leading up to the sequel in 1939.
Has anyone else been following the Great War YouTube channel and their excellent weekly recaps? Here is their post from today:
Quote:
On this day 100 years ago, in the morning hours of 11 November 1918, the German delegation agrees to the Allied armistice terms and signs the Armistice of Compiègne. At 11am the fighting on the Western Front would stop. Some generals disagreed with the armistice and kept fighting till the bitter end, some soldiers would die during the final minutes of this 4 1/2 year long war.
Millions of men had died, were wounded or crippled before them, millions of people had been displaced or traumatised by a war that spiralled into the biggest conflict in human history in 1914. Four Empires were now disintegrating and their citizens were starving and fighting for a new order at the same time. In Eastern Europe alone, 11 November doesn't just mark Armistice Day, it marks Independence Day too.
The winning nations had undergone huge industrial and cultural changes n the past 4 1/2 years, the balance of power among them was permanently shifting. The smaller nations and colonies that fought in this war wanted something in return for their sacrifice.
And the Spanish Flu was still spreading among soldiers and civilians alike.
So, in every sense this 11 November 1918 marks a turning point in history but it certainly wasn't a switch that suddenly brought world peace. It marks a beginning and an end for a variety of processes that shaped our modern world. But even if history is not always contained in certain dates, these dates are a great opportunity for us to remember and to reflect. Lest we forget.
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