The Armistice which terminated World War I was officially signed on November 11, 1918 at 5 AM Paris time; however, it did not take effect until 11 AM--perhaps in order to be "cute" to end the war on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Most combatants saw no point in persisting in the slaying during this arbitrary six hour period and just hunkered down until 11:00. One who did not was an artillery captain named Harry S. Truman (pictured above), who continued to fire his guns until 10:45 AM. Another was the German sniper at Mons who decided that it would be cool to kill Canadian soldier George Price at 10:58 AM.
Approximately 11,000 men were killed, wounded, or became missing between 5:00 AM and 11:00 AM on November 11, 1918. For a further analysis of the background and stated rationale for this needless tragedy, please see the historynet website.
If you are ever in Kansas City, you should visit the National WWI Museum for further insight into the depravity which was that conflict--a conflict that is still shaping events over 100 years later.
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