armistice

On Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, the people of London went out onto the streets to celebrate the end of the ‘war to end war’. In this photograph, servicemen and women, carrying flags, celebrate in the Strand, a street in central London.

A premature celebration of the World War I armistice in New York, USA, on 7 November 1918, before the ceasefire became official on 11 November.

Cessation of hostilities while awaiting a peace settlement. The Armistice refers specifically to the end of World War I between Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918. On 22 June 1940, following the German invasion of France, French representatives signed an armistice with Germany in the same railway carriage at Compiègne as in 1918. No armistice was signed with either Germany or Japan in 1945; both nations surrendered and there was no provision for the suspension of fighting. The Korean armistice, signed at Panmunjom on 27 July 1953, terminated the Korean War 1950–53.

An armistice is sometimes concluded for a few hours to allow a parley or the burying of the dead; a general armistice is the usual preliminary to a peace. A general, as opposed to a partial or local armistice, suspends all military operations of the belligerents. An armistice normally requires ratification by the governments of the belligerent states.

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was concluded by Marshal Foch and Admiral Wemyss for the Allies with the civil and military representatives of Germany. The Allied representatives were acting under full instructions from the Supreme Council in Versailles. This armistice was modified several times before ratification. The Treaty of Versailles, concluded in 1919, embodied the provisions of the armistice with extensive additions.