The final year of the war brought more battles before an armistice was reached. As President Wilson declared his Fourteen Points of Peace, the war waged on between the Central Powers and the Allied Powers.

The battle that is sometimes referred to as the turning point for the Allied victory is the Battle of the Argonne Forest because this is the battle that changed the direction of the war allowing the Allies to defeat the German troops.

Look closely at the following photos from the Argonne Forest and take note of the environment of the battle. What do you observe that justifies this being the "turning point" battle?

Image of three soldiers lying on the ground behind their guns. The trees of the forest are bare and there is dense fog surrounding them.

Source: Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Army.

Image of a soldier standing in the middle of a snow-covered forest.

Source: Beware of entrance into a quarrel, Library of Congress

Dual image of the bodies of American soldiers.

Source: 'All their weary marches done, all their battles fought and won.' American dead in the Meuse-Argonne, Library of Congress

Feeling the pressure from the Allied Powers, the Central Powers, namely the German troops, began to desert their posts. The end of the war was inevitable. An armistice was reached on the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 o'clock (November 11th). This ended the fighting, but the war was not officially declared over until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

Front page of The New York Times where the headline reads: 'Armistice signed, End of the War! Berlin Seized by Revolutionists; New chancellor begs for order; Ousted Kaiser Flees to Holland.'

Source: New York Times – On this Day, 1111, New York Times

Based on this newspaper headline, how did the countries of the Central Powers react to the armistice?

Image of soldiers waiting outside of a church amidst a war-torn city.

Source: Soldiers at Stenay, Office of Veteran Affairs

Soldiers wait outside of a church in France for the end of hostilities. This photo was taken at 10:58 a.m., on November 11, 1918, two minutes before the armistice ending World War I went into effect. This day was called Armistice Day and later it became known as the American holiday Veterans Day.

Image of President Eisenhower signing the bill. There are several men standing behind him, watching him sign.

Source: Vet day History, Office of Veteran Affairs

In this photo, President Eisenhower is signing HR7786, changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day.