On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the incessant boom of artillery abruptly went silent along the Western Front in France.
All of the men knew what the silence meant, but nobody shouted or threw his hat in the air. It took hours for the reality to sink in. World War I—the bloodiest conflict so far in human history, with more than with more than 8.5 million military casualties—had finally ended.
But the war ended with an armistice, an agreement in which both sides agree to stop fighting, rather than a surrender. For both sides, an armistice was the fastest way to end the war's misery and carnage.
Once the news was announced, people raced to the street to commemorate the news, waving flags as they gathered to celebrate the end of bloodshed and hope for a more peaceful future.
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