Chapter 14

The Road to Butgnéville - November 11, 1918

Summary
     This chapter deals with the armistice and the end of fighting on the road to Butgnéville in France, on the front lines of the Western Front. The author's friend's grandfather had served in a division that had been fighting there on the morning of November 11th, when World War One finally ended. Although negotiations with the Germans were under way, that division's orders were to keep fighting against the German defensive line between Saint-Hilaire and Butngéville in order to prepare the way to Metz, a city under German control, and iron mines also controlled by them. It was with these orders that  Strauss, the grandfather's, regiment was making its way to the front line in the early hours of the morning, a very difficult and long journey.
     No one in that division knew that the armistice had already been signed hours earlier, so they continued to fight, and suffered heavy losses in the process - communication was an issue, and it was very hard trying to call back an attack in progress (233). When they finally returned, they learned about the armistice and were ordered to cease fire, and that fighting would officially stop at 11:00. Some Germans continued to give it everything they had until the final seconds, which seemed a bit pointless. After the war ended, fed-up Germans began to cheer, celebrate, and fraternize with the Americans. Fireworks went off, celebrating the new era of peace (240). Some questions that were posed at the end of the chapter included: were the casualties on that day necessary, and could they have been called off if the front lines had known about the armistice earlier? Also, on the other hand, people questioned if the killing actually ended too soon, saying that it might have been an "incomplete victory" that left the Germans blood-thirsty for revenge.

Reflection
     An interesting quote from this chapter mentioned that, "these days nothing indicates that something special once happened here" (241). It seems a little disheartening that all the effort and hard work those men put forth on that battlefield could be so quickly forgotten, and there would be nothing to remind passers-by of the important lives lost at that spot.
     Also, although I don't exactly agree with the fact that the fighting might have ended too soon, it is good point that "conclusive triumphs make conclusive peaces" (238). If I were a German, however, I would probably be even more angry and vengeful if I had been badly beaten and completely defeated!