When WWI Ended: Spectacular Colorized Photos Capturing The Ending Of The Great War

The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded. At least over five million civilians died from disease, starvation, or war crimes. World War I ended on 11 November 1918, when Germany had formally surrendered, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting with the terms of peace were negotiated. Germany and the Allied Nations signed a Treaty of Versailles on 28th June 1919. The treaty forced punitive terms on Germany that destabilized Europe and laid the groundwork for World War II. People in Britain, France, America, and other countries celebrated the ending. People raced to the street to commemorate the news, waving flags as they gathered after the document was signed. These beautiful colorized captures the moments when The Great War ended; people celebrating, soldiers returning from the battlefield, and evaluating the losses. These pictures were colorized by Cardiff-based electrician Royston Leonard, who painstakingly brought them into the 21st century. Also, check colorized photos of French soldiers during WWI.

#1 20th Battery Canadian Field Artillery, Neuville St. Vaast, April 1917. The horse are soaking and laden with gear.

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#2 The announcement of armistice brought ecstatic scenes to Philadelphia. This picture was taken on Nov 11, 1918.

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#3 Captain Benjamin H Geary VC, 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment being carried in on a stretcher by prisoner bearers at Achiet-le-Petit. 21 Aug 1918.

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#4 A crowd of soldiers on the Western Front celebrating as an officer announces the news of the Armistice.

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#5 Three soldiers look out across a battlefield where wagons are upturned and destroyed and craters break up the mud.

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#6 A group of troops wave their hats as they pose for a camera on the edge of a road next to some hedgerows on Armistice Day.

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#7 New Zealand troops on the Western front laughing and smiling in a trench.

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#8 Canadian soldiers charging at the enemy during a dawn attack by going over the top of the trenches.

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#9 One poignant photo shows the funeral of Sergeant Henry Nicholas, VC, in World War I, France.

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#10 German soldiers on board a tank which bears the word escapade on the side. Three sit on the top while another leans out of the window.

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#11 Crowds in New York celebrate the end of the First World War. America joined the conflict in 1917.

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#12 A group of Scottish soldiers wearing kilts smiled for the camera as they prepared to board a truck to head away from the battlefields.

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#13 Nuns laying wreaths in a field of mass graves. The total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was around 40million.

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#14 Smiling British men and boys marching out of a trench at captured from the Germans at the Somme. A sign reads ‘the old hun line’ – referring to where the German front line used to be.

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#15 A group of eight British soldiers stand next to a blown-out building. They smile as they pose for the camera wearing their helmets.

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#16 A German prisoner helps British wounded make their way to a dressing station near Bernafay Wood, following fighting on Bazentin Ridge, July 19, 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.

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#17 Scottish troops march with combat gear and rifles slung over their backs as they make their way over a grassy mound during the Battle of the Canal du Nord, 1918.

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#18 Canadaian soldiers relax in a captured trench in France. One can be seen attending to his rifle as another smokes a cigarette.

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#19 French soldiers at the Battle of Verdun. One sits on the mud as others help the wounded.

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#20 A bombed out town with collapsing buildings as a lone soldier wanders near a crater. Pictured 24. A gigantic shell crater, 75 yards in circumference, Ypres, Belgium, October 1917.

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#21 German officers with an armored car, Ukraine, Spring of 1918. They stand next to the car as they smile for the camera.

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