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Larein t1_j1cxw6o wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in TIL that Henry Gunther was the last soldier to die in World War I. The war ended at 11 AM and Gunther was killed at 10:59 AM while charging a German machine gun by IAmDavidGurney

>Praise Gunther, good honest guy.

What? He charged a machine gun 1 minute before armistice. Fully aware that in 1 minute there would be no more fighting. Against the orders of his superior. Thats either bloodthirsty or suicidal. Stupid either case.

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[deleted] t1_j1d1t81 wrote

[deleted]

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ItsACaragor t1_j1d8h6q wrote

Even the German soldiers tried their best to not shoot him. This is a pretty dumb action really.

If the Germans had been inclined to fight him he would have been shot dead the second he poped his head out.

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czarchastic t1_j1dsuni wrote

Was it stated anywhere that Gunther knew of the armistice? All it said was the german machine gunners knew.

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how-puhqueliar t1_j1e2ccy wrote

it wouldn't have been much of an armistice if both sides didn't know about it

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czarchastic t1_j1e3edm wrote

This is WWI. It’s not like a rank and file soldier would have a smartphone in his pocket to ding him on the status of the armistice. It can take hours for news to reach some front lines.

Even as recent as WWI, carrier pigeons and messenger dogs were used.

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how-puhqueliar t1_j1e76lu wrote

it wouldn't have been much of an armistice if both sides didn't know about it after accommodating for the technology of the time.

maybe they'd do something like, say, set a predetermined time that all sides agreed upon.

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czarchastic t1_j1eeoek wrote

Yeah maybe they would set a predetermined time in the future after signing the agreement to account for communication lag. And maybe frontline soldiers aren’t divulged of every detail from their commanding officer beyond when to hold or charge a line.

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how-puhqueliar t1_j1eew85 wrote

if only we could read more about this exact incident or world war i generally

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czarchastic t1_j1efcfh wrote

Well since you know so much, explain why soldiers were kept in formation for 5 hours after the armistice was signed?

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how-puhqueliar t1_j1egaf3 wrote

cos the french command didn't want the ceasefire and refused to sign any armistice initially, it was pretty precarious

good thing the whole 'eleven eleven eleven' mantra was so catchy that everyone knew exactly when to end hostilities

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czarchastic t1_j1egjm6 wrote

No, that accounted for the 5 weeks leading up to the signing. Try again.

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how-puhqueliar t1_j1egq97 wrote

what was the answer you were looking for, professor? want me to just paraphrase the text of the wikipedia or is that too rote?

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czarchastic t1_j1ehia9 wrote

It’s so withdrawing troops doesn’t get misconstrued as a tactical retreat. It’s important to, you know, give it time to unwind a frontline to avoid unnecessary casualties.

But again, not everyone knew about the armistice at the same time, and I’m giving the benefit of the doubt that maybe not every frontline soldier was notified in advance.

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paulc899 t1_j1e68le wrote

He was ordered not to advance any further because the armistice was coming and it wasn’t worth the risk.

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czarchastic t1_j1efyph wrote

I get that he was ordered not to charge, but I don’t see anywhere that says he was told about why

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