World War I Battleship Found

More than a year ago, a French battleship from World War I was discovered on the ocean floor near the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. The battleship, the Danton, was torpedoed by a German u-boat in 1917 shortly after the the battleship received word that enemy submarines were in the area. The Danton was en route to Corfu, Greece on March 18th when the ship was attacked. The ship is believed to have rolled after being torpedoed and as it sank, it rolled again landing upright on the sea bed. The Danton was one of the largest French vessels of World War I. It carried almost 1,000 men. Three fourths of the crew were rescued, but casualties still numbered more than 290.

The Danton was discovered by an unmanned submarine conducting a survey of the sea floor for a proposed oil pipeline route. For the complete story please visit French Battleship Intact After Nearly a Century Under Water by Deb Krajnak.

Veterans Day Rememberance

Today is the 90th Anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I, sometimes referred to as the "Great War" or the "War to End all Wars". Although the Armisitce was signed at 5 AM on November 11, 1918, it did not take affect until 11:00 AM, becoming what is referred to as the "eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month".

My question is what is the significance of the 11-11 at 11:00 AM? Why not put the Armistice in effect at 5 AM when it was signed. Some have suggested that this time and date were chosen to ensure the significance of the armistice. Does anyone have any thoughts?

The two best sources on the Great War are Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August and Eric Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque's book is actually a novel, however it draws on his first hand experience as a soldier during World War I so it can be used as a reliable source of the conditions of the war.