The fighting of World War 1 ended after an
armistice was
signed by the Allies and Germany on 11
November 1918. They signed the armistice shortly after 5.00am
that day, to take effect from 11.00am.
An armistice is an agreement to stop fighting, to enable
peace negotiations to take place, but it is not an agreement to
surrender and end the war.
Although the eventual agreement to end World War 1 was signed much
later - on 28 June 1919 - the war had effectively ended when
fighting formally ceased at 11.00am on 11/11/1918 under the
armistice.
Each anniversary of 11 November 1918 was at first was called
Armistice Day and was acknowledged as a day to remember the
soldiers who had been killed during World War 1.
After World War 2, the day was generally called
Remembrance
Day instead, to recognise that people would wish to remember
soldiers who had died in allwars.
Some people in some countries still call the day Armistice Day,
some also call it Poppy Day and in the USA it is called Veterans
Day. Some countries change the date each year from 11 November to the date of
the nearest Sunday, and some make the day a public holiday.
In Australia the day is now called Remembrance Day only,
it is always commemorated on 11 November and it is not a
public holiday.
