Remembrance Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom on 11th Niovember to commemorate the Armistice that put an end to WWI and was signed on 11th November 1918.

World War One (WWI)

WWI began on 28th June 1914 and ended in 11th November 1918 (Armistice /ˈɑː.mɪ.stɪs/)
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28th July 1914. Russia and France sided with Serbia, and Germany supported Austria-Hungary.
More than 65 million men from 30 countries fought in WWI all over the world. Nearly 10 million soldiers died (Allies: about 6 & Central Powers: about 4 million). The greatest single loss of life in the history of the British army occurred during the Battle of Somme (60,000 casualties in one day).
WWI introduced the widespread use of the machine gun, the tank, the war aircraft and gas. About 120,000 tons of gas were used: 1,200,000 soldiers were gassed, of which 91,198 died horrible deaths). Millions of soldiers suffered “shell shock,” or post-traumatic stress disorder, due to the horrors of trench warfare. The trench network of WWI (the Western front) stretched approximately 40,200 km from the English Channel to Switzerland.

Effects of WWI:

• Transformation of the United States into the largest military power in the world.
• The emancipation of women and African Americans.
• Creation of the League of Nations
• German recession because of severe sanctions (Treaty of Versailles) > Hitler’s accession to power
• The collapse of four empires collapsed: Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, German, and Russian.
• Birth of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as independent nations.

In the USA 11th November is also a federal holiday: Veterans Day (a veteran is a person who has served in the US armed forces).

East Valley Veterans Day Parade ©abc15.com