, This Day in History: , World War I Ends.<br />November 11, 1918.<br />Germany signed the <br />armistice agreement with <br />the Allies that would end the <br />most devastating war to date.<br />World War I was fought at the <br />human cost of more than nine million <br />soldiers. 21 million soldiers were wounded.<br />More than five million civilians were <br />killed or died from starvation, <br />exposure or disease.<br />The combined financial costs <br />of the "war to end all wars" <br />totaled more than $300 billion.<br />Sparked by the assassination <br />of Archduke Franz Ferdinand <br />in June 1914, the war led to the <br />destruction of four European empires.<br />The punitive Treaty of Versailles <br />led to runaway inflation and mass <br />resentment in Germany, sowing <br />the seeds of World War II
