Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?
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Communications weren't quick
It would have taken hours for the news to reach all the units on the western front. Radios were not in widespread use, so many telephone calls would have had to be made to many headquarters. They would then have had to send messengers to all their sub-units that didn't have telephones.If one side stops shooting, and the other doesn't, fighting will just restart
There would be no way to guarantee that the word of the cease-fire, spreading separately on the two sides of the lines, would reach the same areas at the same time. So if side A got an order "Stop fighting immediately," and side B hadn't heard, A would stop, and B would carry on, causing casualties on side A. In fact B would be more effective than usual, because they weren't having to look out for enemy fire. Pretty soon, A would start firing again, because being shot at while having the means to shoot back, but being forbidden to do so is very hard on the nerves.So it was necessary to give some notice if everyone was to stop simultaneously.
Upvote:-4
I appreciate your answers the truth of the matter is the allied leadership wanted a historic time. The allies continued to send Soldiers into battle between 5am and 11am. In other words we continued to prosecute the war resulting in more casualties in order to have that historic time.
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Accepting the need for a delay as described in previous answers, there may have been a particular reason for choosing 11 am (on the 11th day of the 11th month) rather than another time.
In German culture the pre-Advent carnival season traditionally starts at 11.11 am on the 11th of November (St. Martin's Day). In many towns and cities the mayor temporarily hands over the keys to a group of ordinary citizens. Work stops and the rest of the day is spent merry-making.
St. Martin was himself a reluctant soldier who gave up his military career.
What might be the relevance of this? The attitude of the German people was uncertain. They were unprepared for defeat. Was the choice of 11 am intended to resonate psycholgically with the German people? It was time, now, to cease from war and to give up their military work. The Kaiser had already abdicated on November 9th, though news was slow. The armistice time and date symbolically handed over the keys to the German people.
The Goethe Institute, describes the carnival and the date of 11th November. Negotiators must have been aware of the significance of the 11s. I have no evidence it played any part in the choice of time, but it may have been a factor intended psychologically to influence the German people to accept an unpopular end to the war.
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