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Conditions of the Armistice with Germany (November 11, 1918)


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CONDITIONS OF THE ARMISTICE WITH GERMANY


Signed 11 November 1918

(TRANSLATION)

BETWEEN Marshal Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, acting on behalf of the Allied and Associated Powers, in conjunction with Admiral Wemyss, First Sea Lord, of the one part; and Secretary of State Erzberger, President of the German Delegation, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary Count von Oberndorff, Major-General von Winterfeldt, Captain Vanselow (German Navy), furnished with full powers in due form and acting with the approval of the German Chancellor, of the other part;

An Armistice has been concluded on the following conditions:

CONDITIONS OF THE ARMISTICE CONCLUDED WITH GERMANY

A. —On the Western Front

I. —Cessation of hostilities on land and in the air six hours after the signature of the Armistice.

II. —Immediate evacuation of the invaded countries:—Belgium, France, Luxembourg, as well as Alsace-Lorraine, so ordered as to be completed within fifteen days from the signature of the Armistice. German troops which have not evacuated the above-mentioned territories within the period fixed will be made prisoners of war. Joint occupation by the Allied and United States forces shall keep pace with evacuation in these areas. All movements of evacuation or occupation shall be regulated in accordance with a Note (Annex No. 1), drawn up at the time of signature of the Armistice.

III. —Repatriation, beginning at once, to be completed within fifteen days, of all inhabitants of the countries above enumerated (including hostages, persons under trial, or convicted).

IV. —Surrender in good condition by the German Armies of the following war material:

5,000 guns (2,500 heavy, 2,500 field)
25,000 machine-guns
3,000 trench mortars
1,700 fighting and bombing airplanes—in the first place, all D7’s and all night-bombing airplanes

The above to be delivered in situ to the Allied and United States troops in accordance with the detailed conditions laid down in the Note (Annex 1) determined at the time of the signing of the Armistice.

V. —Evacuation by the German Armies of the districts on the left bank of the Rhine. These districts on the left bank of the Rhine shall be administered by the local authorities under the control of the Allied and United States Armies of Occupation.

The occupation of these territories by Allied and United States troops shall be assured by garrisons holding the principal crossings of the Rhine (Mainz, Coblenz, Cologne), together with bridge-heads at these points of a 30-kilometre (about 19 miles) radius on the right bank, and by garrisons similarly holding the strategic points of the area.

A neutral zone shall be reserved on the right bank of the Rhine, between the river and a line drawn parallel to the bridgeheads and to the river and 10 kilometers (6 and a quarter miles) distant from them, between the Dutch frontier and the Swiss frontier.

The evacuation by the enemy of the Rhine districts (right and left banks) shall be so ordered as to be completed within a further period of 16 days, in all 31 days after the signing of the Armistice.

All movements of evacuation and occupation shall be regulated according to the Note (Annex 1) determined at the time of the signing of the Armistice.

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