The surrender of the left bank of the Rhine as well as the garrison cities of Cologne, Koblenz, and Mainz was among the conditions of the November 11, 1918, ceasefire that officially ended the hostilities of the First World War. The last German troops left the city of Mainz on December 8, 1918. With the arrival of some 12,000 French soldiers, Mainz experienced a French occupation for the fifth time in its history. The photograph shows French cavalry in the streets of Mainz on April 23, 1919, two months before the conclusion of the Treaty of Versailles.