This Day in History: the First World War ends. November 11, 1918. Germany signed the armistice agreement with the Allies that would end the
most devastating war to date. The First World War was fought at the human cost of more than nine million soldiers. More than 21 million soldiers were wounded. More than five million civilians were killed or died from starvation, exposure or disease. The combined financials costs of the "war to end all wars" totaled more than $300 billion. Sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, the war led to the destruction of four European empires. The punitive Treaty of Versailles
led to runaway inflation and mass resentment in Germany, sowing the seeds for the Second World War.