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For the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, we relive the last 100 days before the armistice through The Globe’s coverage at the time, with a series of archival photographs and front-page headlines

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Tanks advancing down Amiens-Roye Road in the Battle of Amiens, August, 1918.Library and Archives Canada

Here, we offer a look at the headlines and stories that informed Canadians of the happenings on the front line as the Allied forces pushed for Germany’s eventual surrender, and the months following the armistice before the peace treaty was signed.

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The Globe on Aug. 9, 1918The Globe and Mail

Friday, August 9, 1918

FRANCO-BRITISH SWEEP ON WIDE FRONT; CANADIANS PLAY PART IN GREAT VICTORY

OVER 1,000 PRISONERS AND 100 GUNS TAKEN IN EARLY HOUR OF GREAT ALLIED DRIVE

French, Canadian, Australian and English Divisions Take Part in the Offensive Launched Under the Command of Sir Douglas Haig – Cavalry, Tanks and Motor Guns are Active – Mounted Men Captured Transports and Villages – Berlin Admits Defeat

PARIS, Friday, Aug. 9– The number of prisoners taken by the French and British in Picardy now exceeds ten thousand, according to the latest news from the battlefront. The Allies have taken an enormous booty in guns and material, says Marcel Hutin in The Echo de Paris.

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One of the numerous 8-inch Howitzers captured by the Canadians in Bourlon Wood.Canada's Triumph: From Amiens to Mons. 2nd ed. (1918)

TO-DAY’S WAR SUMMARY

SIR DOUGLAS HAIG HAS LAUNCHED HIS EAGERLY-AWAITED OFFENSIVE east of Amiens. At dawn yesterday on a front of twenty-five miles from Albert south almost to Montdidier, French, Canadian, Australian and English troops, under command of Generals De Bentry and Sir Henry Rawlinson, respectively, and aided by a large number of British tanks, attacked the German line, and by night had pushed forward a distance of over seven miles, capturing thousands of prisoners and a large number of guns. So far as the point of assault was concerned the thrust was a complete surprise to the enemy, and rapid progress was made by the Allies.



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The Globe on Aug. 10, 1918The Globe and Mail

Saturday, August 10, 1918

ALLIES SMASH FOE LINES FOR BIG GAINS IN CONTINUOUS FIGHTING: NEARLY 300 GUNS AND OVER 17,000 PRISONERS ARE GATHERED IN

Many Towns and Villages Fall Into Allied Hands as the Combined Forces Sweep on in Spite of Desperate Resistance – Canadians and Australians Particularly Mentioned

“Canadian and Australian troops captured a number of positions and pushed forward after severe fighting.”

“Besides considerable material, which has not yet been enumerated, we have made on our part 4,000 prisoners. Our losses and those of our British Allies are particularly light.” – an official statement of the Allies.

“The enemy is continuing his attacks between the Somme and Avre,” says the official statement from the General Headquarters to-night. The text of the day communication follows: “Between the Yser and the Avre (Ancre) our counter-attacks brought to a standstill enemy storming attacks just east of the line of Morcourt.”

CANADIANS IN THE FOREFRONT

Take a Number of Towns in the Hard Fighting of Friday

London, Aug. 9 – Canadian troops have captured Warvillers, about two and a half miles south from Rosieres, while the French have taken Arvillers, to the southwest of Warvillers, and seven miles from Roye. The Germans recaptured Chipilly, north of the Somme, by a strong counterattack to-day.

The Canadians, the advices state, have taken the town of Beaucourt, 2.5 miles southwest of Rosieres. The Australians are fighting farther north, along the Somme. Small parties of Germans are reported to be still in Rosieres, 3.5 miles west of Chaulnes, but the British are all around them, and their life as fighting men will probably be short.

In photos: Colourized images offer new perspectives on last days of the First World War

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Returning on a Tank: Members of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles return from combat piled on a tank in this August, 1918, photograph. At the Battle of Amiens, where this photograph was taken, Canadians experimented with transporting infantry to the front inside the tanks, but carbon monoxide exhaust and the crippling heat left most of them vomiting and unable to fight.Canadian War Museum / Image colourized by Canadian Colour



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The Globe on Aug. 12, 1918.The Globe and Mail

Monday, August 12, 1918

WOUNDED CANADIANS ARRIVE IN LONDON

STIRRING SCENE WHEN BOYS IN TRAINING MEET COMPATRIOTS FROM FIGHTING

A stirring scene occurred a few miles outside London last night. When a small batch of Canadians from recent fighting arrived at the railway station it so happened that a party of Canadians in training were outside. As the ambulances drove away lively encounters of wit took place, the wounded men sitting up in the ambulances and waiting to their comrades to go through to the hilt, and who were wildly cheering those who had come back.

“There are still ten bodies for each one who is scratched,” shouted one man from a stretcher. “There will be twenty less when we get over,” answered someone from the crowd on the roadway. Reports here show that the Canadian Corps is eminently satisfied with the progress made, while the casualty list, as so far received, is considerably below what might have been expected.



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The Globe on Aug. 24, 1918The Globe and Mail

Saturday, August 24, 1918

SMASHING IN THE GERMAN LINES

“We have begun an action we shall continue” – Foch

Marshal of France Says Everything Is Going Well – Realities Better Than Promises

“Marshal Foch received the war correspondents to-day in the spacious salon of an old chateau, where there is more business than luxury. The most conspicuous objects in the room were the military maps on the wall. Advancing to meet his visitors, with simple cordiality, the Marshal said: “I am glad to see you, but I do not know just what I can say to you, other than that everything is going well. We have begun our action and we shall continue.”



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The Globe on Aug. 27, 1918The Globe and Mail

Tuesday, August 27, 1918

CANADIANS IN A SMASHING ADVANCE; HINDENBURG LINE HAS BEEN REACHED

Fine Work by Splendid Men

Taking of Monchy-le-Preux Most Important News of Day

WAS CANADIAN CAPTURE

Guards Clash With Bavarian Battalion and Use Bayonet With Effect

By Henry W. Nevinson

War Correspondents’ Headquarters, Aug. 26 – Fine and steady as the advance along the whole line of the two armies has been, all other news is thrown into the background for the day by the report that the Canadians and some other very fine British troops have captured Monchy-le-Preux, five miles west and a little south of Arras, upon the Cambrai road, a position famous in the earlier years of the war. Standing as it does right across the top of the old Hindenburg line, and marking our extreme advance in that direction, its importance as commanding not only the Valley of the Scarpe, but the Cojeul and the Sensee can hardly be overstated. Its capture will bring fresh honor to the specially fine troops engaged.



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The Globe on Aug. 28, 1918The Globe and Mail

Wednesday, August 28, 1918

CANADIANS CONSTANTLY DRIVING EASTWARD: GREAT GERMAN DEFENCE RAPIDLY CRUMBLING

LONDON, Aug. 27 – Canadian troops made notable advances south of the Scarpe River to-day, according to Field Marshal Haig’s report, occupying Cherisy, Vis-en-Artois and the Bois du Sart, and taking many prisoners. Scottish battalions also made excellent progress.

The statement reads:

“This morning our troops, operating astride the Scarpe, again attacked. Overcoming the resistance of the enemy in his old front line defences held prior to his offensive of March 21, the Canadians penetrated deeply into the German positions between the Sensee and Scarpe Rivers, and captured Cherisey, Vis-en-Artois and Bois du Sart, with many prisoners.

“On the right of the Canadians, Scottish troops cross the Sensee and seized Fontaine-les-Croisilles, establishing themselves on the slopes of the spur south of the village, and taking several hundred prisoners.”

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Soldiers on road: Wounded soldiers passing wrecked trucks on the Arras-Cambrai Road, September, 1918. Pte. Fred Stone of the 64th Battalion is supported by two German prisoners.Canadian War Museum / Image colourized by Canadian Colour

Biggest Thing In Whole War Which Canadians Have Done

British Headquarters, Aug. 27 – On the main battlefront on August 8 the honor of the first advance was shared by the Australians and the Canadians. It was chiefly a Canadian battle. It was their advance at Luce which was the core of the operation, and on their progress the advance both of the Australians’ left and that of the successive French armies on the right depended, each of which was thrown in only as the advance above prospered. The Canadians are right in claiming that the fighting of the first two days was the biggest thing Canada has done, not excepting the capture of Vimy Ridge. Certainly nothing could have been better.



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The Globe on Sept. 3, 1918The Globe and Mail

Tuesday, September 3, 1918

BRITISH SMASH QUEANT LINE

Canadian and British Troops Break Hindy’s Switch Line Piercing Deeply In What May Be War’s Greatest Battle

LONDON, Sept. 2 – The strongly fortified German system of defence, known as the Drocourt-Queant line, a switch of the Hindenburg line south of the Scarpe River, was carried on a wide front to-day, in an attack by Canadian and English troops, aided by tanks, according to Field Marshal Haig’s communication, issued to-night. The dispatches indicate that the break in the German trench line is on a front of over six miles, and at some points has reached a depth of three miles.

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This map is for the assault on the Drocourt-Queant Line, Sept. 2-3, 1918. By 1917-1918, complicated and detailed artillery fire plans preceded and accompanied all major battles. A creeping barrage supported the advancing infantry troops. The curtain of shells, indicated here by the tight cluster of thin vertical lines, moved forward, in this case from left to right, in a series of 100-yard lifts (about 91 metres).George Metcalf Archival Collection / Canadian War Museum

Women Man German Ships

Officers, Except Captains, Engineers, Stokers Are All Females

Haparanda, Sept. 2 – German ships are arriving at Ulea with their Captains the only men aboard; officers, engineers, and stokes being all women. This illustrated the shortage of German manhood. Finnish papers have ceased publishing the war communiques.



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The Globe on Sept. 5, 1918The Globe and Mail

Thursday, September 5, 1918

FRENCH MAKE SWEEP ON 20-MILE FRONT; BRITISH CROSS THE CANAL DU NORD

British Pursuing Foe

LONDON, Sept. 4 – The Canal du Nord and the Tortille River have been crossed on a wide front north of Moislains by English and Welsh troops, according to Field Marshal Haig’s communications, issued to-night. Moislains lies about three miles north of Peronne.

Canadians are reported to have reached the west bank of the canal on a front of 2,000 yards. The despatches show that excellent progress is being made in the converging movement on Cambrai.

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The Canal Du Nord, a vital point in a Great Battle.Canada at War: 1914-1918. A Record of Heroism and Achievement (1919)

Huge Fires Started By Germans, Who Begin a General Retreat French Are Nearing Important Aisne River CrossingLa Fere is Reported to be in FlamesMany Prisoner Guns Taken

Americans and French on Heels of Retreating Foe

With the American Army on the Vesle Front, Sept. 4 – A German withdrawal from the Vesle has begun. Combat patrols of Americans and French are close on their heels to the west of Bazoches and eastward to a point beyond Fismes.

Smart machine-gun resistance is being encountered. By all indications the Germans have withdrawn their main bodies to the north, possibly preparatory to crossing the Aisne.

It became more apparent to-day that Germans had given up the struggle to maintain a foothold north of the Vesle. American and French artillery continued their punishing fire over an area extending to the Aisne without bringing a reply that could be compared in intensity.



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The Globe on Sept. 16, 1918The Globe and Mail

Monday, September 16, 1918

AUSTRIA’S PLEA FOR PEACE CONFERENCE; ALLIED ARMIES RECORD NEW VICTORIES

Austria, In Panic, Requests Powers to Enter on Discussion of Peace

Object of Conference to Secure Exchange of ViewsNo Interruption of War in MeanwhileDiscussions Not BindingTo be Held in Neutral CountryGermany Also Makes Peace Offer to Belgium

Amsterdam, Sept. 15 – The Austro-Hungarian Government yesterday invited all belligerent Governments to enter into non-binding discussions at some neutral meeting place, with a view to bringing about peace. The Holy See and all neutral nations also will be notified. An official statement from Vienna making the above announcement has been received here.

In extending its invitation, the Austro-Hungarian Government states that the object of the conference would be to secure an exchange of views which would show “whether those prerequisites exist which would make the speedy inauguration of peace negotiations appear promising.”

Germany’s Offer

London, Sept. 15 – It is understood that the Government has received the Austro-Hungarian peace note, and also the proposal, previously referred to, that all the powers should withdraw their troops from Murman territory.

It is also learned that Germany has made a peace offer to Belgium. The terms of this proposal are as follows:

“That Belgium shall remain neutral until the end of the war.

“That thereafter the entire economic and political independence of Belgium shall be reconstituted.

“That the pre-war commercial treaties between Germany and Belgium shall again be put into operation after the war for an indefinite period.

“That Belgium shall use her good offices to secure the return of German colonies.

“That the Flemish question shall be considered, and the Flemish minority, which aided the German invaders, shall not be penalized.”

The proposal contains no word respecting reparations or indemnities, no admission that Germany wronged Belgium.



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The Globe on Sept. 19, 1918The Globe and Mail

Thursday, September 19, 1918

BRITISH BREAK HINDENBURG LINE

Over 6,000 Prisoners and Many Guns Taken in Drive: British and French Smash Forward on 22-Mile Front

Victory Bulletins

LONDON, Sept. 18 – British forces have advanced a front of sixteen miles in the St. Quentin sector, reaching a depth at some places of three miles. The French, co-operating on their right, have smashed forward on a six mile front to a depth of a mile and a third. The British, according to Sir Douglas Haig’s official report to-night, have taken over 6,000 prisoners and many guns. Several hundred prisoners have also been taken by the French.

Heavy rains were prevailing when the attacks commenced, but they were everywhere successful. In positions reached near Bellicourt, the British are astride the main Cambrai-St. Quentin highway. At several points the Hindenburg line has been crossed. The taking of a complete German battery with its teams was an incident of the British attack. A Berlin report to-night says that the German have launched counter-attacks.



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The Globe on Sept. 30, 1918The Globe and Mail

Monday, September 30, 1918

MAIN HINDENBURG LINE STORMED

Canadians Sang Going Into Battle

Net Results of Fighting of Dominion Troops in Friday’s Conflict

With the Canadian Forces, Sept. 28 – The following are the net results in the Canadian Corps of yesterday’s fighting:

Penetration of about five miles, with possession of the Canal du Nord, and a possible turning of enemy position at Douai; capture of Bourlon Wood, which overlooks Cambrai, and whose fall may follow in a few days. 71 officers and 2,300 men passed through the cages last night with a total of between 3,000 and 4,000 men.

The prisoners are of the best type yet encountered, being mostly Prussians and Hanoverians.

Our own casualties are less than the number of prisoners.

Our men went singing into battle, exactly as they did at Amiens, and were equally confident of victory.



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The Globe on Oct. 10, 1918The Globe and Mail

Thursday, October 10, 1918

CANADIANS FIRST TO ENTER CAMBRAI

British, Americans and French Take 12,000 Men and 200 Guns

British Cavalry Pursues Demoralized Huns: Sweeping Advance Follows Haig’s Notable Victory

Foe Destroys Cambrai After a Glorious Day for the Allies ArmiesBreak the Power of the Enemy Forever Civilians Are Removed

With the British Armies, Oct. 9 – At 4 o’clock this morning, in darkness, except for the light of the stars, Canadians and British troops, pressing close from north and south, joined hands in the chief square of Cambrai. This morning rear-guards and the whole city of Cambrai is safely in our hands.

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A line of stalwart Canadian-Highlanders are moving up to the attack on Cambrai in the early morning.Canada at War: 1914-1918. A Record of Heroism and Achievement (1919)



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The Globe on Oct. 12, 1918The Globe and Mail

Saturday, October 12, 1918

Strong People Needed

The need for people to be healthy is urgent. Those whom illness has put outside the ranks of robust men and women feel their position keenly, They are handicapped in every walk of life and weak men and nerve-worn women need more earnestly than ever to put their health right and become active and strong. Many who began “patching” months ago are as ill now as on the day they began vainly tinkering with common drugs. Every ailing man and woman should remember the ills of debility, nerve exhaustion, indigestion, sleeplessness, neuralgia and depression come from a faulty blood supply.



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The Globe on Nov. 2, 1918The Globe and Mail

Saturday, November 2, 1918

NEW TRIUMPHS ON THE WESTERN FRONT

Turks Yielded All Demands

Terms of Armistice Show That Ottoman Surrender Was Unconditional

NO SECRET ARRANGEMENT

Agreement Was Signed in London on Behalf of All Allies

London, Nov. 1 – “The armistice accepted by Turkey amounts to complete and unconditional surrender.”

This statement was made by Lord Robert Cecil, Assistant Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to the Associated Press to-night.

Lord Robert emphasized the statement of the Foreign Office to the Associated Press by saying “no secret undertakings or engagement have been made with Turkey, so far as the British Government is concerned.”

He added that the Armistice had been signed by Great Britain on behalf of all the allies.

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Fire at Valenciennes: The capture of Valenciennes on Nov. 2, 1918, was the last Canadian set-piece battle of the war. Weakened Canadian battalions drove through the German outer defences and then into the city, located southwest of Mons.George Metcalf Archival Collection / The Canadian War Museum

The Details of Armistice

“The terms of the armistice granted by the allied powers to Turkey follow:

First – The opening of the Dardanelles an the Bosphorus and access to the Black Sea. Allied occupation of the Bosphorus forts.

Second – The positions of all minefields, torpedo tubes and other obstructions in Turkish waters are to be indicated and assistance given to sweep or remove them, as may be required.

Third – All available information concerning mines in the Black Sea is to be communicated.

Fourth – All allied prisoners of war and Armenian interned persons are to be collected in Constantinople and handed over unconditionally to the allies.

Fifth – Immediate demobilization of the Turkish army, except such troops as are required for surveillance on the frontiers and for maintenance of internal order. The number of effectives and their disposition to be determined later by the Allies, after consultation with the Turkish government.



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The Globe on Nov. 9, 1918The Globe and Mail

Saturday, November 9, 1918

REVOLUTION IN GERMANY

Kaiser Refuses to Abdicate – Fears Entente and Anarchy

Sailors, Soldiers and Civilians Revolt, Mutiny and Uprising

“TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT” – FOCH: THREE DAYS FOR DECISION

Story of Dramatic Trip of Humbled Hun Plenipotentiaries to Allied Commander – Plea for Time, but Fighting Forces Carry On – Kaiser Waits With German Command at Spa

PARIS, Nov. 8 – Germany’s hour has struck. The white flag is been raised, and the emissaries of the Hun, under the emblem of defeat, have crossed that strip of No Man’s Land which has severed him from the civilized world for the last four years.

Marshal Foch has decided that there shall be no anti-climax to the present world tragedy. Those responsible are not to escape the nemesis of downfall.

The story of the arrival of the German plenipotentiaries at the French lines is a thrilling one, and will read when told like an interlude in a Shakespearean drama.

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These Canadian supply units are crossing the dry bed of the Canal du Nord. The wrecked bridge in the background was deliberately destroyed by the Germans, while the dead Canadian in the foreground is grim testimony to the recent fighting.George Metcalf Archival Collection / The Canadian War Museum

RED FLAGS FLY IN HUNDOM: ANARCHY GRIPS POPULATION

Kaiser Decides to Leave Throne, but Maximilian Drops Chancellorship - Revolts and Riots in Several Centres - Germany Navy Said to Have Taken to Sea at Last in Hands of Mutineers

AMSTERDAM, Nov. 8 – Emperor William of Germany has declined to accede to the demands that he abdicate, says a German wireless despatch picked up here to-night.

To the ultimatum of the Socialists the Emperor replied through Minister of the Interior Drews that he refused to abdicate voluntarily on the ground that he could not at the moment of peace undertake the terrible responsibility of handing over Germany to the Entente and delivering up the country to anarchy.



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The Globe on Nov. 11, 1918 (the Armistice).The Globe and Mail

Monday, November 11, 1918

GERMANY THROWS UP HER HANDS

THE FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 3:10 a.m. – This announcement was made verbally by an official of the State Department in this form: “The armistice has been signed. It was signed at 5 o’clock a.m., Paris time, and hostility will cease at 11 o’clock this morning, Paris time.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 – The terms of the armistice, it was announced, will not be made public until later. Military men here, however, regard it as certain that they include:

  • Immediate retirement of the German military forces from France, Belgium and Alsace-Lorraine.
  • Disarming and demobilization of the German armies.
  • Occupation of the allies and American forces of such strategic points in Germany as will make impossible a renewal of hostilities.
  • Delivery of part of the German High Seas Fleet and a certain number of submarines to the allied and American naval forces.
  • Disarmament of all other German warships under supervision of the allied and American navies, which will guard them.
  • Occupation of the principal German naval bases by sea forces of victorious nations.
  • Release of allied and American soldiers, sailors and civilians held prisoners in Germany without such reciprocal action by the associated Governments.
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"Hostilities will cease ..." Telegram to units of the 3rd Canadian Division informing them of the Armistice to take effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. Mons was liberated around 6:00 a.m. on Nov. 11 and, along other parts of the front, several Canadian infantry battalions were fighting German troops up until the last hour before the Armistice.George Metcalf Archival Collection / The Canadian War Museum


KAISER SIGNS WITH SHIVER: “MAY BE FOR GERMAN GOOD”

Dramatic Scene When All Highest Puts His Signature to Abdication Letter – Crown Prince and Hindenburg With Him at Military Headquarters


THE ARMISTICE [a poem]

The storm sweeps on: the thund’rous vibrant roll

Of guns in thousands fill the tortured air;

Tense-thewed, fierce-eyedvengeance in every soul

Freedom’s battalions march, Death’s worst to dare.

But, hark! High o’er the wildest note of war,

Celestial bugles bid man’s battle ease,

And seraph voices, wafted from afar,

Fill Heaven with music, and the Earth with peace.

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Victorious Canadians Reviewed in Mons.Canada at War: 1914-1918. A Record of Heroism and Achievement (1919)



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The Globe on Nov. 12, 1918The Globe and Mail

Tuesday, November 12, 1918

STERN TERMS OF ARMISTICE SIGNED BY BEATEN GERMANS

Hun Pays Heavy Toll for His Ruthless Ambition and Savagery – Roar of War Guns Ceases at Command of Foch – Canadians Capture Mons as Closing Achievement of Glorious Record

PARIS, Nov. 11 – War’s great guns are silent. Armies of Allied soldiers, in the impetus of their surging forward drive, are halted. They hold the lines “at ease.” Victory is theirs. They stay their progress at the call of their Commander, to whom the enemy has surrendered in accepting terms of a humiliating armistice.


CANADIANS IN AT THE FINISH

The closing achievement of the campaign fell to the Canadians. Just at dawna few hours before hostilities endedthe men from across the Atlantic crowned their heroic and historic war career by the capture of Mons. Where the “Little Contemptibles” of Britain started, the sons of her overseas Dominion finished. It was a glowing example of “come back.”

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The Army Commander Taking the Salute in Mons: The Canadian Brigade Which Captured the Town as Guard of Honour.Canada in The Great War: The Triumph of the Allies (1920)

KAISER IS NOT WELCOME GUEST

Dutch Government Objects to Former German Emperor Residing in Holland

MORE THRONES TOPPLE

Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria Flees from Liege

Amsterdam, Nov. 11 – The Handelsblad says it learns the Dutch government will object to the former German Emperor residing in Holland.

Officials of the Dutch government and the German Minister at The Hague have gone to Eysden, on the Dutch frontier, to meet the former Emperor.

It states on good authority here that William Hohenzollern will be interned in Holland.

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Residents of Toronto swarm over downtown Yonge Street, in celebration of the signing of the armistice which ended the First World War on Nov. 11, 1918.CP

TORONTO KNOWS NO RESTRAINT IN HAILING PEACE’S COMING

From Early Dawn to Midnight Down-town Streets Are Thronged with Joyous People – City Devoid of Street Car Service – Hotels and Restaurants Almost Emptied of Food – Little Serious Damage Done by Crowds

While the citizens of Toronto lay enwrapped in dreamful slumber, in the dead small hours of yesterday morning, the silent and invisible herald of peace was encircling the globe in the form of a wireless message that Germany had signed the armistice, and that the bond of victory for the right was finally sealed.

How that silent message found instrumental and vocal utterance, and the invisible was made visible, will remain the loftiest landmark in Canada’s national life, and will be a story that those who live through it will tell with zest to their grandchildren.

Yonge Street up to a late hour last night was one broad esplanade. The surging throngs of men and women occupied the whole of the sidewalks and pavement. At one point passage was impossible. A roaring bonfire blazed in the centre of the street, attracting with a strange fascination the moth-like multitude.



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The Globe on Nov. 13, 1918

Wednesday, November 13, 1918

GERMANY IS NOW A FREE NATION

New Chancellor Declares State Will be Republic – Monarchy Gone Forever

KAISER’S FINAL FRANTIC EFFORT TO HALT ARMISTICE MISSION

By George Renwick

AMSTERDAM, Nov. 12 – I learn on excellent authority that the Kaiser and his supporters at Headquarters made a determined effort to prevent the German armistice delegation from reaching the French lines.

It will be recalled that there was considerable delay during the journey of the delegates to the front. That was occasioned by the Kaiser’s orders, which resulted in the armistice mission being held up at a point on its journey through Belgium. There was a lengthy struggle between the Kaiser and high officers supporting him, and those at Headquarters who are on the side of the new order of things.

In the end, Hindenburg took upon himself to order the mission to proceed, threatening with serious consequences anyone who countermanded his instructions. The mission immediately went on, and the Kaiser thus lost his last battle.



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The Globe on Nov. 14, 1918The Globe and Mail

Thursday, November 14, 1918

U.S. CASUALTIES NOT OVER 100,000

List Has Not Yet Been Completed, but Total Will Not Exceed Estimate

Washington, Nov. 13 – Officials here estimate that the total casualties of the American Expeditionary Forces in the war will not exceed 100,000, including the men killed in action, wounded, died of wounds, disease and accidents, and the missing, who never will be accounted for. Some of those who have been missing probably will be accounted for when the prisoners are returned from Germany.

It was said to-day that it probably will be several weeks before the record of casualties can be completed.




The following is after the armistice, but before the peace treaty was officially signed on June 28, 1919.

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The Globe on Nov. 30, 1918The Globe and Mail

Saturday, November 30, 1918

CANADIANS TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY

OTTAWA, Nov. 20 – Members of the Canadian army invading Germany will spend a victorious Christmas in the great Rhine fortress of Mainz, where, it is expected, they will have their headquarters until peace is signed.

Situated on the left bank of the Rhine, Mainz is one of the oldest cities of Germany, and is the largest in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. It is one of the great fortresses of the former German Empire. The fortifications, enlarged since 1871, consist of several lines of bastioned forts, the citadel in the southeastern part of the town, and a number of detached forts. It is connected with Kastel, on the opposite bank of the river, by a modern bridge. The city has a rich military history extending back to Roman times.

The Canadian army which will remain in Germany during the period of occupation has not been decided upon as yet, but it is believed that the force will be composed of men volunteering for this duty.

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Crossing the Rhine: Currie and other senior officers salute members of the 22nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, as they cross the Rhine River in Bonn, Germany. The 22nd Battalion, the CEF's only front-line French-Canadian infantry unit, suffered 3,961 casualties during the war, including 1,074 killed and 2,887 wounded.George Metcalf Archival Collection / The Canadian War Museum

APPALLING ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN GERMANY

RUIN CONFRONTS GERMANY: NO PRODUCTS FOR FACTORIES

Millions of Men Will be Thrown Out of Work Owing to Lack of Raw Materials – No Iron Obtainable From Alsace-Lorraine or Silesia – Coal is Vanishing

BERLIN, Nov. 29 – With all her many other troubles Germany now seems to be entering a period of unemployment and strikes, which are bound to aggravate the situation to an intolerable degree unless the Government manages to cope quickly with certain reluctant elements among the workers as well as the employers.

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Map titled "Germany After the War." Scanned from "Canada's Sons in the World War." By Colonel George G. Nasmith, 1919.Canada's Sons in the World War (1919)

WITH CANADIANS IN NORTH RUSSIA

Men Are Well and Cheery and Are In Great Demand

London, Nov. 29 – The nature and the conditions of the expedition in which the Canadian forces of picked fighting men is taking part on the River Dvina, in north Russia, is well set forth in a letter from an officer printed in The Times. The writer describes the men as lodging in a long, narrow board building and mentions a dinner with the commander, when Russians, French and Poles were present. He says they have seen ptarmigan and Arctic hare, and one of the men saw a bear. Sending men out to shoot and fish, a British officer got a 12-pound salmon after five hours’ play. The men are healthy and very cheery. They are in great demand as they can turn their hand to anything.




While fighting ceased on Nov. 11, 1918, the Allies continued to have troops occupy Germany until the government there agreed to sign the peace treaty. In June 1919, the Allies threatened the Germans, issuing an ultimatum that Germany would have to accept the treaty or face an invasion of Allied forces across the Rhine within 24 hours. On June 28, 1919, the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (the impetus of the war), the Treaty of Versailles was signed.

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The peace conference at the Quay d'Orsay, Paris.Canada's Sons in the World War (1919)

Photo research by Paula Wilson

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