Hundred Days Offensive: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Allied offensive during World War One}} |
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{{Other uses|Hundred Days (disambiguation)}} |
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{{for|the final period of Napoleon's rule that coincided with the War of the Seventh Coalition|Hundred Days}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date= |
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}} |
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{{Infobox military conflict |
{{Infobox military conflict |
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| conflict = Hundred Days Offensive |
| conflict = Hundred Days Offensive |
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| partof = the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] of [[World War I]] |
| partof = the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] of [[World War I]] |
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| image = File:Western front 1918 allied.jpg |
| image = File:Western front 1918 allied.jpg |
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|image_size = 300px |
| image_size = 300px |
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| caption = Allied gains in late 1918 |
| caption = Allied gains in late 1918 |
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| date = 8 August – 11 November 1918 |
| date = 8 August – 11 November 1918 |
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| place = [[Amiens]], France to [[Mons]], Belgium |
| place = [[Amiens]], France to [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]], Belgium |
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|coordinates = {{coord|49|53|38.09|N|2|17|39.30|E|display=title|region:AU_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}} |
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*Collapse of the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] |
* Collapse of the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] and the [[German Empire]] |
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| combatant1 = {{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}<br>{{collapsible list|bullets=y|title={{nobold|{{flag|British Empire}} }} |
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|{{flagcountry|size=23px|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} |
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*Collapse of the German Empire |
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|{{flagcountry|size=23px|Canada|1907}} |
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{{flag|British Empire}} |
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|{{flagcountry|size=23px|Dominion of Newfoundland}} |
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* {{flag|Australia}} |
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* {{flag|Canada|1868}} |
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{{flag|United States|1912}}<br>{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgian government at Sainte-Adresse|Belgium]] <br>{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}<ref>Caracciolo, M. ''Le truppe italiane in Francia''. Mondadori. Milan 1929</ref><ref>Julien Sapori, ''Les troupes italiennes en France pendant la première guerre mondiale'', éditions Anovi, 2008</ref><br>{{flagcountry|First Portuguese Republic}}<br>{{flagdeco|Rattanakosin Kingdom|1917}} [[Siam in World War I|Siam]] |
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* {{flagcountry|Dominion of Newfoundland}} |
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| commander1 = {{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Ferdinand Foch]]{{efn|Allied Commander}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Philippe Pétain]]{{efn|Commander of the French Army}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Paul Maistre]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Centre}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Émile Fayolle]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Reserve}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau|Noël Castelnau]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group East}}<br /> {{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Douglas Haig]]{{efn|Commander of BEF}}<br />{{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Sir Henry Wilson, 1st Baronet|Henry Wilson]]{{efn|Chief of Imperial General Staff of the British Army}}<br />{{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[John J. Pershing]]{{efn|Commander of AEF}}<br /> {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Albert I of Belgium|King Albert I]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Flanders}}<br />{{flagdeco|First Portuguese Republic}} [[Tamagnini de Abreu]]{{efn|Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps}}<br />{{flagdeco|First Portuguese Republic}} [[Manuel Gomes da Costa|Gomes da Costa]]{{efn|Divisional Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps}}<!--Ple note that Dominion commanders answered to Haig--> |
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| commander2 = {{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Paul von Hindenburg]]{{efn|Chief of the German Great General Staff}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Erich Ludendorff]]{{efn|First Quartermaster General }}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Wilhelm Groener]]{{efn|First Quartermaster General}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Max von Gallwitz]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Gallwitz}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria|Rupprecht of Bavaria]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Wilhelm, German Crown Prince|Wilhelm of Prussia]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group German Crown Prince}}<br>{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Max von Boehn (general)|Max von Boehn]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Boehn}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg|Albrecht of Württemberg]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Albrecht}} |
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⚫ | | strength1 = Strength on 11 November 1918:<ref name="Neiberg95">Neiberg p. 95</ref><br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} {{circa|2,559,000}}<br>{{flagicon|British Empire}} {{circa|1,900,000}}<br />{{flagicon|USA|1912}} {{circa|1,900,000}}{{efn|Also possessed 2,251 artillery pieces on the frontline out of the 3,500 total artillery pieces used by the Americans. Ayers p. 81}} <br>{{flagicon|Belgium}} {{circa|190,000}} |
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{{flag|United States|1912}}<br> |
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{{flag|Belgium}}<br> |
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{{flagcountry|First Portuguese Republic}}<br>{{flagdeco|Thailand}} [[Siam]]<br>{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}<ref>Caracciolo, M. ''Le truppe italiane in Francia''. Mondadori. Milan 1929</ref><ref> |
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Julien Sapori, ''Les troupes italiennes en France pendant la première guerre mondiale'', éditions Anovi, 2008</ref> |
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| commander1 = {{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Ferdinand Foch]]<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Philippe Pétain]]<br /> {{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Douglas Haig]]<br /> {{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[John J. Pershing]]<br /> {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Albert I of Belgium|King Albert I]]<!--Ple note that Dominion commanders answered to Haig--> |
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| commander2 = {{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Paul von Hindenburg]]<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Erich Ludendorff]]<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Wilhelm Groener]] |
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⚫ | | strength1 = Strength on 11 November 1918:<ref name="Neiberg95">Neiberg p. 95</ref><br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} {{circa|2,559,000}}<br>{{flagicon|British Empire}} {{circa|1,900,000}}<br />{{flagicon|USA|1912}} {{circa|1,900,000}} |
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|title = Breakdown |
|title = Breakdown |
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|'''Men and |
|'''Men and material captured, by country''' |
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BEF: 188,700 prisoners, 2,840 guns<ref>Bond 1990, p. 20.</ref> |
* BEF: 188,700 prisoners, 2,840 guns<ref>Bond 1990, p. 20.</ref> |
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* French: 139,000 prisoners, 1,880 guns<ref name="Reid 2006, p. 448.">Reid 2006, p. 448.</ref> |
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* US: 44,142 prisoners, 1,481 guns<ref name="Reid 2006, p. 448."/> |
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* Belgian: 14,500 prisoners, 414 guns<ref name="Reid 2006, p. 448." /> |
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{{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} '''17,500'''< |
{{flagicon|Austria-Hungary}} '''17,500'''<ref>Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920, The War Office, pp. 356–357.</ref><br>2,500 killed<br>5,000 captured<br>10,000 wounded |
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| campaignbox = |
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Hundred Days 1918}} |
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{{Campaignbox Hundred Days 1918}} |
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{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)}} |
{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)}} |
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| campaign = |
| campaign = |
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The '''Hundred Days Offensive''' |
The '''Hundred Days Offensive''' (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] offensives that ended the [[First World War]]. Beginning with the [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]] (8–12 August) on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]], the Allies pushed the [[Imperial German Army]] back, undoing its gains from the [[German spring offensive]] (21 March – 18 July). |
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The Germans retreated to the [[Hindenburg Line]], but the Allies broke through the line with a series of victories, starting with the [[Battle of St Quentin Canal]] on 29 September. The offensive led directly to the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]] which ended the war with an Allied victory. The term "Hundred Days Offensive" does not refer to a battle or strategy, but rather the rapid series of Allied victories. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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The |
The [[German spring offensive]] on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] had begun on 21 March 1918 with [[Operation Michael]] and had petered out by July. The [[German Army (German Empire)|German Army]] had advanced to the [[Marne (river)|River Marne]], but failed to achieve their aim of a victory that would decide the war. When the German ''Operation Marne-Rheims'' ended in July, the Allied supreme commander, [[Ferdinand Foch]], ordered a counter-offensive, which became known as the [[Second Battle of the Marne]]. The Germans, recognizing their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne to the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title [[Marshal of France]]. |
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Foch considered the time had arrived for the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] to return to the [[Military offensive|offensive]]. The [[American Expeditionary Forces|American Expeditionary Force]] (AEF |
After the Germans had lost their forward momentum, Foch considered the time had arrived for the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] to return to the [[Military offensive|offensive]]. The [[American Expeditionary Forces|American Expeditionary Force]] (AEF) under United States General [[John J. Pershing]] had arrived in France in large numbers and had reinvigorated the Allied armies with its extensive resources.<ref name="Bean">{{cite book |last= Bean |title= The Australian Imperial Force in France during the Allied Offensive}}.</ref>{{rp |472}}{{request quotation|date=December 2020}} Pershing was keen to use his army as an independent force. The [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) had been reinforced by large numbers of troops returned from the [[Sinai and Palestine campaign]] and from the [[Italian front (World War I)|Italian front]], and by replacements previously held back in Britain by [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[David Lloyd George]].<ref name = "Bean" />{{rp |155}} |
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The military planners considered a number of proposals. Foch agreed to a proposal by [[Field marshal (United Kingdom)|Field Marshal]] [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Sir Douglas Haig]], [[commander-in-chief]] of the BEF, to strike on the [[Somme (river)|River Somme]], east of [[Amiens]] and south-west of the site of the 1916 [[Battle of the Somme]], to force the Germans away from the vital [[Amiens]]–[[Paris]] railway.<ref name="Bean" />{{rp |472}} The Somme was chosen because it remained the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, along the Amiens–Roye road, allowing the two armies to cooperate. The [[Picardy]] terrain provided a good surface for [[tank]]s, unlike in [[Flanders]], and the defences of the German [[2nd Army (German Empire)|2nd Army]] under General [[Georg von der Marwitz]] were relatively weak, having been subjected to continual raiding by the [[Australian Army during World War I|Australians]] in a process termed [[peaceful penetration]]. |
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==Battles== |
==Battles== |
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{{main|Battle of Amiens (1918)}} |
{{main|Battle of Amiens (1918)}} |
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The Battle of Amiens (with the French attack on the southern flank called the |
The Battle of Amiens (with the French attack on the southern flank called the Battle of Montdidier) opened on 8 August, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks.<ref name = "Bean" />{{rp |497}} The mastermind of the plan was the Australian Lieutenant General [[John Monash]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Monash |first=John |title=The Australian Victories in France in 1918: the Battles of the Australian Army on the Western Front During the Final Year of the First World War |publisher=Black Inc. |year=1920 |isbn=9781863957458 |publication-date=2015 |chapter=Chapter 5: The battle plan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Perry |first=Roland |title=Monash: The Outsider Who Won A War |publisher=Random House |year=2004 |isbn=9780857982131 |pages=532–539}}</ref> Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise.<ref name = "Bligh" />{{rp |20,95}}<ref name = "Christie_1999">{{cite book |title=For King and Empire: The Canadians at Amiens, August 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |year=1999 |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |isbn=1-896979-20-3}}</ref> The attack, led by the British [[Fourth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourth Army]], broke through the German lines, and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap {{convert |15|mi|km| abbr = on}} wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme.<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Vanwell |orig-year=1977 |year=2004 |title=Shock Army of the British Empire: the Canadian Corps in the last 100 days of the Great War |last=Schreiber |first=Shane B. |location= St. Catharines, ON |isbn=1-55125-096-9}}</ref> The Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 339 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded and missing. The collapse in German morale led [[Erich Ludendorff]] to dub it "the Black Day of the German Army".<ref name="Bligh">{{cite book |last=Livesay |first=John Frederick Bligh |title=Canada's Hundred Days: With the Canadian Corps from Amiens to Mons, Aug. 8 – Nov. 11, 1918 |year=1919 |publisher=Thomas Allen |place=Toronto |url=https://archive.org/details/canada100days00liveuoft}}</ref>{{rp |20,95}} |
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The advance continued for three more days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery and ran short of supplies.<ref name="Orgill_1972">{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=Orgill |title=Armoured Onslaught: 8th August 1918 |year=1972 |location=New York |publisher=Ballantine |isbn=0-345-02608-X}}</ref> During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain {{convert |12|mi|km|abbr= on}}. Most of this was taken on the first day as the arrival of German reinforcements after this slowed the Allied advance.<ref name = "VAC">{{cite web |url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war/canada/Canada15 |title=Canada's Hundred Days |publisher=Veterans Affairs |location=Canada |date=29 July 2004 | |
The advance continued for three more days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery and ran short of supplies.<ref name="Orgill_1972">{{cite book |first=Douglas |last=Orgill |title=Armoured Onslaught: 8th August 1918 |year=1972 |location=New York |publisher=Ballantine |isbn=0-345-02608-X}}</ref> During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain {{convert |12|mi|km|abbr= on}}. Most of this was taken on the first day as the arrival of German reinforcements after this slowed the Allied advance.<ref name = "VAC">{{cite web |url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war/canada/Canada15 |title=Canada's Hundred Days |publisher=Veterans Affairs |location=Canada |date=29 July 2004 |access-date=25 May 2015 |archive-date=24 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724155927/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/first-world-war/canada/Canada15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the [[Salients, re-entrants and pockets|salient]] that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, back towards the [[Hindenburg Line]].<ref name = "Dancocks">{{cite book |first=Daniel George |last=Dancocks |title=Spearhead to Victory: Canada and the Great War |publisher=Hurtig |year=1987 |page=294 |isbn=0-88830-310-6}}</ref> |
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===Somme=== |
===Somme=== |
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{{main|Second Battle of the Somme |
{{main|Second Battle of the Somme}} |
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[[File:AWM AWM E03183 peronne.jpg|thumb |
[[File:AWM AWM E03183 peronne.jpg|thumb|1 September 1918, [[Péronne, Somme]]. A machine gun position established by the [[54th Battalion (Australia)|Australian 54th Battalion]] during its attack on German forces in the town]] |
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On 15 August |
On 15 August, Foch demanded that Haig continue the Amiens offensive, even though the attack was faltering as the troops outran their supplies and artillery and German reserves were being moved to the sector{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}. Haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the [[Third Army (United Kingdom)|Third Army]] at [[Albert, Somme|Albert]] (the [[Battle of Albert (1918)|Battle of Albert]]), which opened on 21 August.<ref name = "Bean" />{{rp |713–4}} The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a {{convert|34|mi|km|abbr=on}} front. Albert was captured on 22 August.<ref name="greatwar.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.greatwar.co.uk/timeline/ww1-events-1918.htm#august |title=History of the Great War – principal events timeline – 1918 |access-date=11 June 2010}}</ref> The attack was widened on the south, by the French [[Tenth Army (France)|Tenth Army]] starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of [[Noyon]] on 29 August.<ref name="greatwar.co.uk"/> On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, the [[First Army (United Kingdom)|First Army]] widened the attack by another {{convert |7|mi|km| abbr=on}} with the Second Battle of Arras of 1918. [[Bapaume]] fell on 29 August (during the [[Second Battle of Bapaume]]). |
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===Advance to the Hindenburg Line=== |
===Advance to the Hindenburg Line=== |
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⚫ | With the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line. East of Amiens (after the [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]]), with artillery brought forward and munitions replenished, the Fourth Army also resumed its advance, with the Australian Corps crossing the Somme River on the night of 31 August, breaking the German lines during the [[Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/battlefields/mont-st-quentin-peronne-1918.html |title=Mont St Quentin – Peronne 31 August – 2 September 1918 | |
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⚫ | With the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line. East of Amiens (after the [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]]), with artillery brought forward and munitions replenished, the Fourth Army also resumed its advance, with the Australian Corps crossing the Somme River on the night of 31 August, breaking the German lines during the [[Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/battlefields/mont-st-quentin-peronne-1918.html |title=Mont St Quentin – Peronne 31 August – 2 September 1918 |access-date=11 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725073538/http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/battlefields/mont-st-quentin-peronne-1918.html |archive-date=25 July 2008 }}</ref> On 26 August, to the north of the Somme, the First Army widened the attack by another {{convert |7|mi|km|abbr= on}} with the Second Battle of Arras of 1918, which includes the [[Battle of the Scarpe (1918)]] (26 August) and the [[Battle of Drocourt-Queant Line]] (2 September).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/battles/battles-of-the-western-front-in-france-and-flanders/the-second-battles-of-arras-1918/ |title=The Second Battles of Arras, 1918 – The Long, Long Trail |access-date=11 June 2010}}</ref> |
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South of the BEF, the French [[First Army (France)|First Army]] approached the Hindenburg Line on the outskirts of St. Quentin during the |
South of the BEF, the French [[First Army (France)|First Army]] approached the Hindenburg Line on the outskirts of St. Quentin during the Battle of Savy-Dallon (10 September),<ref name = "Hanotaux">{{cite book |last=Hanotaux |title=Histoire illustrée de la guerre de 1914|year=1915|url=https://archive.org/details/histoireillustre02hanouoft }}</ref>{{rp |128–9}} and the French Tenth Army approached the Hindenburg Line near [[Laon]] during the Battle of Vauxaillon (14 September).<ref name = "Hanotaux" />{{rp |125}} The British Fourth Army approached the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal, during the [[Battle of Épehy]] (18 September). By 2 September, the Germans had been forced back close to the Hindenburg Line from which they had launched their offensive in the spring. |
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===Battles of the Hindenburg Line=== |
===Battles of the Hindenburg Line=== |
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{{main| |
{{main|Meuse–Argonne offensive|Battle of St. Quentin Canal|Fifth Battle of Ypres|Battle of Cambrai (1918)}} |
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⚫ | Foch planned a series of [[concentric]] attacks on the German lines in France (sometimes referred to as the Grand Offensive), with the various axes of advance designed to cut German [[Line of communication|lateral communications]], intending that the success of an attack would enable the entire front line to be advanced.<ref name = "Bligh" />{{rp |205–6}} The main German defences were anchored on the Hindenburg Line, a series of defensive fortifications stretching from [[Cerny-en-Laonnois|Cerny]] on the [[Aisne (river)|Aisne]] river to [[Arras]].<ref name="Christie Arras">{{cite book |series=For King and Empire: A Social History and Battlefield Tour |title=The Canadians at Arras and the Drocourt–Queant Line, August–September, 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |orig-year=1997 |year=2005 |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |isbn=1-896979-43-2 |oclc=60369666}}</ref> Before Foch's main offensive was launched, the remaining German salients west and east of the line were crushed at [[Battle of Havrincourt|Havrincourt]] and [[Battle of Saint-Mihiel|St Mihiel]] on 12 September and at the Battle of Épehy and the [[Battle of the Canal du Nord]] on 27 September.<ref name = "Bligh" />{{rp |217}} |
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⚫ | The first attack of the Grand Offensive was launched on 26 September by the French and the AEF in the [[Meuse-Argonne Offensive]] (this offensive includes the battles of Somme-Py, Saint-Thierry, Montfaucon, and Chesne of 1 November). On 28 September, the Army Group under [[Albert I of Belgium]] (the Belgian Army, the British [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]] and the [[Sixth Army (France)|French Sixth Army]]), attacked near [[Ypres]] in Flanders (the [[Fifth Battle of Ypres]]). Both attacks made good progress initially but were then slowed by supply difficulties. The Grand Offensive involved attacking over difficult terrain, resulting in the Hindenburg Line not being broken until 17 October.<ref>{{Citation |title=The German summer offensive and Soviet prospects |date=2017-03-27 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315682709-14 |work=The Western Allies and Soviet Potential in World War II |pages=185–188 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315682709-14 |isbn=9781315682709 |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Foch planned a series of [[concentric]] attacks on the German lines in France (sometimes referred to as the Grand Offensive), with the various axes of advance designed to cut German [[ |
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⚫ | On 29 September, the central attack on the Hindenburg Line commenced, with the British Fourth Army (with British, Australian and American forces){{sfn|Blair|2011|pp=145–148}} attacking in the [[Battle of St Quentin Canal]] and the French First Army attacking fortifications outside St Quentin. By 5 October, the Allies had broken through the entire depth of the Hindenburg defences over a {{convert |19|mi|km| abbr = on}} front.<ref name = "Hanotaux" />{{rp |123}} [[Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson|General Rawlinson]] wrote, "Had the Boche [Germans] not shown marked signs of deterioration during the past month, I should never have contemplated attacking the Hindenburg line. Had it been defended by the Germans of two years ago, it would certainly have been impregnable…." |
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⚫ | The first attack of the Grand Offensive was launched on 26 September by the French and the AEF in the [[Meuse-Argonne Offensive]] (this offensive includes the |
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⚫ | On 29 September, the central attack on the Hindenburg Line commenced, with the British Fourth Army (with British, Australian and American forces){{sfn|Blair|2011|pp= |
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On 8 October, the First and Third British Armies broke through the Hindenburg Line at the [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Second Battle of Cambrai]].<ref>{{cite book |series=For King and Empire: A Social History and Battlefield Tour |title=The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |year=1997 |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |isbn=1-896979-18-1 |oclc=166099767}}</ref> This collapse forced the German High Command to accept that the war had to be ended. The evidence of failing German morale also convinced many Allied commanders and political leaders that the war could be ended in 1918; previously, all efforts had been concentrated on building up forces to mount a decisive attack in 1919. |
On 8 October, the First and Third British Armies broke through the Hindenburg Line at the [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Second Battle of Cambrai]].<ref>{{cite book |series=For King and Empire: A Social History and Battlefield Tour |title=The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |year=1997 |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |isbn=1-896979-18-1 |oclc=166099767}}</ref> This collapse forced the German High Command to accept that the war had to be ended. The evidence of failing German morale also convinced many Allied commanders and political leaders that the war could be ended in 1918; previously, all efforts had been concentrated on building up forces to mount a decisive attack in 1919. |
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===Subsequent operations=== |
===Subsequent operations=== |
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[[File:Riflemen-1918-Western-Front.jpg|thumb|Comparison of Allied and German frontline rifle |
[[File:Riflemen-1918-Western-Front.jpg|thumb|Comparison of Allied and German frontline rifle strength before and after the Hundred Days Offensive and the arrival of additional American troops.<ref>Leonard P. Ayers, ''[https://archive.org/stream/warwithgermanyst00ayreuoft#page/n1/mode/1up online The War with Germany: a statistical summary]'' (1919) p 105</ref>]] |
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Through October, the German armies retreated through the territory gained in 1914. The Allies pressed the Germans back toward the lateral railway line from Metz to Bruges, which had supplied the front in |
Through October, the German armies retreated through the territory gained in 1914. The Allies pressed the Germans back toward the lateral railway line from [[Metz]] to [[Bruges]], which had supplied the front in northern France and Belgium for much of the war. As the Allied armies reached this line, the Germans were forced to abandon increasingly large amounts of heavy equipment and supplies, further reducing their morale and capacity to resist.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wasserstein |first=Bernard |title=Barbarism and Civilization: A History of Europe in Our Time |year=2007 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/barbarismciviliz00wass/page/93 93–96] |isbn=978-0-1987-3074-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/barbarismciviliz00wass/page/93 }}</ref> |
||
The Allied and German armies suffered many casualties. Rearguard actions were fought during the [[Pursuit to the Selle]] (9 October), battles of [[Battle of Courtrai (1918)|Courtrai]] (14 October), [[Mont-d'Origny]] (15 October), [[Battle of the Selle|the Selle]] (17 October), [[Battle of the Lys and the Escaut|Lys and Escaut]] (20 October) (including the subsidiary battles of the Lys and of the Escaut), the Serre (20 October), [[Battle of Valenciennes (1918)|Valenciennes]] (1 November), [[Battle of the Sambre (1918)|the Sambre]] (including the Second Battle of Guise) (4 November), and Thiérache (4 November), and the [[Passage of the Grande Honnelle]] (5 November), with fighting continuing until the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|Armistice]] took effect at 11:00 on 11 November 1918. The last soldier to die was [[Henry Gunther]], one minute before the armistice came into effect. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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* [[Canada's Hundred Days]] |
* [[Canada's Hundred Days]] |
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== Notes == |
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{{notelist}} |
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{{Reflist|group=notes}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist |
{{Reflist}} |
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==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
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{{refbegin}} |
{{refbegin|30em}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Bond |first=Brian |title=The Unquiet Western Front, Britain's Role in Literature and History |location=London |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-03641-2}} |
* {{cite book |last=Bond |first=Brian |title=The Unquiet Western Front, Britain's Role in Literature and History |location=London |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2007 |isbn=978-0-521-03641-2}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Bean |first=Charles Edwin Woodrow | |
* {{cite book |last=Bean |first=Charles Edwin Woodrow |author-link=Charles Bean |series=Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 |volume=VI |title=The Australian Imperial Force in France during the Allied Offensive |publisher=Angus and Robertson |year=1942 |edition=|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1069923/ |access-date=29 July 2015 |oclc=41008291}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Blair |first=Dale |title=The Battle of Bellicourt Tunnel: Tommies, Diggers and Doughboys on the Hindenburg Line, 1918 |publisher=Frontline Books |year=2011 |isbn= |
* {{cite book |last=Blair |first=Dale |title=The Battle of Bellicourt Tunnel: Tommies, Diggers and Doughboys on the Hindenburg Line, 1918 |publisher=Frontline Books |year=2011 |isbn=978-1848325876 }} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |year=1999 |title=For King and Empire, The Canadians at Amiens, August 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |isbn=1-896979-20-3}} |
* {{cite book |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |year=1999 |title=For King and Empire, The Canadians at Amiens, August 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |isbn=1-896979-20-3}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |year=2005 |title=The Canadians at Arras and the Drocourt–Queant Line, August–September, 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |isbn=1-896979-43-2 |oclc=60369666}} |
* {{cite book |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |year=2005 |title=The Canadians at Arras and the Drocourt–Queant Line, August–September, 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |isbn=1-896979-43-2 |oclc=60369666}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |year=1997 |title=The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |isbn=1-896979-18-1}} |
* {{cite book |last=Christie |first=Norm M. |year=1997 |title=The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918 |publisher=CEF Books |isbn=1-896979-18-1}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Dancocks |first=Daniel George |year=1987 |title=Spearhead to Victory: Canada and the Great War |publisher=Hurtig |ref=294 |isbn=0-88830-310-6 |oclc=16354705}} |
* {{cite book |last=Dancocks |first=Daniel George |year=1987 |title=Spearhead to Victory: Canada and the Great War |publisher=Hurtig |ref=294 |isbn=0-88830-310-6 |oclc=16354705}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Hanotaux |first=Gabriel |title=Histoire Illustrée de la Guerre de 1914 |language= |
* {{cite book |last=Hanotaux |first=Gabriel |title=Histoire Illustrée de la Guerre de 1914 |language=fr |volume=17 |publisher=Gounouilhou |location=Paris |year=1924 |oclc=175115527}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Livesay |first=John Frederick Bligh |title=Canada's Hundred Days |publisher=Thomas Allen |year=1919 |oclc=471474361}} |
* {{cite book |last=Livesay |first=John Frederick Bligh |title=Canada's Hundred Days |url=https://archive.org/details/canadashundredd00livegoog |publisher=Thomas Allen |year=1919 |oclc=471474361}} |
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* {{cite book |last= |
* {{cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Lloyd (historian) |title=Hundred Days: The End of the Great War |publisher=Viking |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-670-92006-8}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Sir A. |title=The Story of Fourth Army in the Battles of the Hundred Days, August 8th to November 11th, 1918 |place=London |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=1920 |url=https://archive.org/details/storyoffourtharm00mont | |
* {{cite book |last=Montgomery |first=Sir A. |title=The Story of Fourth Army in the Battles of the Hundred Days, August 8th to November 11th, 1918 |place=London |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |year=1920 |url=https://archive.org/details/storyoffourtharm00mont |access-date=29 July 2015 |oclc=682022494}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Orgill |first=Douglas |year=1972 |title=Armoured Onslaught: 8 August 1918 |publisher=Ballantine |location=New York |isbn=0-345-02608-X}} |
* {{cite book |last=Orgill |first=Douglas |year=1972 |title=Armoured Onslaught: 8 August 1918 |publisher=Ballantine |location=New York |isbn=0-345-02608-X}} |
||
* {{cite book |last=Priestley |first=R. E. |title=Breaking the Hindenburg Line: The Story of the 46th (North Midland) Division |place=London |publisher=Unwin |year=1919 |url=https://archive.org/details/breakhindenburg00priesuoft | |
* {{cite book |last=Priestley |first=R. E. |title=Breaking the Hindenburg Line: The Story of the 46th (North Midland) Division |place=London |publisher=Unwin |year=1919 |url=https://archive.org/details/breakhindenburg00priesuoft |access-date=29 July 2015 |oclc=671679006}} |
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* {{cite book |last1=Reid |first1=Walter |title=Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig |date=2006 |publisher=Birlinn Ltd |isbn=978-1841585178}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Schreiber |first=Shane B. |year=2004 |title=Shock Army of the British Empire: The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days of the Great War |location=St.Catharine's, Ontario |publisher=Vanwell |isbn=1-55125-096-9}} |
* {{cite book |last=Schreiber |first=Shane B. |year=2004 |title=Shock Army of the British Empire: The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days of the Great War |location=St.Catharine's, Ontario |publisher=Vanwell |isbn=1-55125-096-9}} |
||
* {{cite book| last = Tucker| first = S.| editor-last=Zabecki|editor-first=D.|title = Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History|publisher = ABC-CLIO|year = 2014|isbn = 978-1-598-84980-6 |
* {{cite book| last = Tucker| first = S.| editor-last=Zabecki|editor-first=D.|title = Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History|publisher = ABC-CLIO|year = 2014|isbn = 978-1-598-84980-6}} |
||
{{refend}} |
{{refend}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* Lloyd, Nicholas: [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/hundred_days_offensive Hundred Days Offensive] |
* Lloyd, Nicholas: [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/hundred_days_offensive Hundred Days Offensive], in: [https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/home.html 1914–1918 – online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War]. |
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* [http://maps.omniatlas.com/europe/19180920/ Maps of Europe] during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive at omniatlas.com |
* [http://maps.omniatlas.com/europe/19180920/ Maps of Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801034058/http://maps.omniatlas.com/europe/19180920/ |date=1 August 2014 }} during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive at omniatlas.com |
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{{World War I}} |
{{World War I}} |
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Latest revision as of 12:06, 6 November 2024
Hundred Days Offensive | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Western Front of World War I | |||||||
Allied gains in late 1918 | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
France United States Belgium Italy[1][2] Portugal Siam |
German Empire Austria-Hungary | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Ferdinand Foch[a] Philippe Pétain[b] Paul Maistre[c] Émile Fayolle[d] Noël Castelnau[e] Douglas Haig[f] Henry Wilson[g] John J. Pershing[h] King Albert I[i] Tamagnini de Abreu[j] Gomes da Costa[k] |
Paul von Hindenburg[l] Erich Ludendorff[m] Wilhelm Groener[n] Max von Gallwitz[o] Rupprecht of Bavaria[p] Wilhelm of Prussia[q] Max von Boehn[r] Albrecht of Württemberg[s] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Strength on 11 November 1918:[3] c. 2,559,000 c. 1,900,000 c. 1,900,000[t] c. 190,000 |
Strength on 11 November 1918:[3] c. 3,562,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
18 July – 11 November: 1,070,000[4] 531,000 412,000 127,000 |
18 July – 11 November: 1,172,075+[4] 100,000+ killed 685,733 wounded 386,342 captured 6,700 artillery pieces Breakdown 2,500 killed 5,000 captured 10,000 wounded |
The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial German Army back, undoing its gains from the German spring offensive (21 March – 18 July).
The Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line, but the Allies broke through the line with a series of victories, starting with the Battle of St Quentin Canal on 29 September. The offensive led directly to the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended the war with an Allied victory. The term "Hundred Days Offensive" does not refer to a battle or strategy, but rather the rapid series of Allied victories.
Background
[edit]The German spring offensive on the Western Front had begun on 21 March 1918 with Operation Michael and had petered out by July. The German Army had advanced to the River Marne, but failed to achieve their aim of a victory that would decide the war. When the German Operation Marne-Rheims ended in July, the Allied supreme commander, Ferdinand Foch, ordered a counter-offensive, which became known as the Second Battle of the Marne. The Germans, recognizing their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne to the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title Marshal of France.
After the Germans had lost their forward momentum, Foch considered the time had arrived for the Allies to return to the offensive. The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) under United States General John J. Pershing had arrived in France in large numbers and had reinvigorated the Allied armies with its extensive resources.[8]: 472 [need quotation to verify] Pershing was keen to use his army as an independent force. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had been reinforced by large numbers of troops returned from the Sinai and Palestine campaign and from the Italian front, and by replacements previously held back in Britain by Prime Minister David Lloyd George.[8]: 155
The military planners considered a number of proposals. Foch agreed to a proposal by Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commander-in-chief of the BEF, to strike on the River Somme, east of Amiens and south-west of the site of the 1916 Battle of the Somme, to force the Germans away from the vital Amiens–Paris railway.[8]: 472 The Somme was chosen because it remained the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, along the Amiens–Roye road, allowing the two armies to cooperate. The Picardy terrain provided a good surface for tanks, unlike in Flanders, and the defences of the German 2nd Army under General Georg von der Marwitz were relatively weak, having been subjected to continual raiding by the Australians in a process termed peaceful penetration.
Battles
[edit]Advance in Picardy
[edit]Battle of Amiens
[edit]The Battle of Amiens (with the French attack on the southern flank called the Battle of Montdidier) opened on 8 August, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks.[8]: 497 The mastermind of the plan was the Australian Lieutenant General John Monash.[9][10] Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise.[11]: 20, 95 [12] The attack, led by the British Fourth Army, broke through the German lines, and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap 15 mi (24 km) wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme.[13] The Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 339 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded and missing. The collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it "the Black Day of the German Army".[11]: 20, 95
The advance continued for three more days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery and ran short of supplies.[14] During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain 12 mi (19 km). Most of this was taken on the first day as the arrival of German reinforcements after this slowed the Allied advance.[15] On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, back towards the Hindenburg Line.[16]
Somme
[edit]On 15 August, Foch demanded that Haig continue the Amiens offensive, even though the attack was faltering as the troops outran their supplies and artillery and German reserves were being moved to the sector[citation needed]. Haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the Third Army at Albert (the Battle of Albert), which opened on 21 August.[8]: 713–4 The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a 34 mi (55 km) front. Albert was captured on 22 August.[17] The attack was widened on the south, by the French Tenth Army starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of Noyon on 29 August.[17] On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, the First Army widened the attack by another 7 mi (11 km) with the Second Battle of Arras of 1918. Bapaume fell on 29 August (during the Second Battle of Bapaume).
Advance to the Hindenburg Line
[edit]With the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line. East of Amiens (after the Battle of Amiens), with artillery brought forward and munitions replenished, the Fourth Army also resumed its advance, with the Australian Corps crossing the Somme River on the night of 31 August, breaking the German lines during the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin.[18] On 26 August, to the north of the Somme, the First Army widened the attack by another 7 mi (11 km) with the Second Battle of Arras of 1918, which includes the Battle of the Scarpe (1918) (26 August) and the Battle of Drocourt-Queant Line (2 September).[19]
South of the BEF, the French First Army approached the Hindenburg Line on the outskirts of St. Quentin during the Battle of Savy-Dallon (10 September),[20]: 128–9 and the French Tenth Army approached the Hindenburg Line near Laon during the Battle of Vauxaillon (14 September).[20]: 125 The British Fourth Army approached the Hindenburg Line along the St Quentin Canal, during the Battle of Épehy (18 September). By 2 September, the Germans had been forced back close to the Hindenburg Line from which they had launched their offensive in the spring.
Battles of the Hindenburg Line
[edit]Foch planned a series of concentric attacks on the German lines in France (sometimes referred to as the Grand Offensive), with the various axes of advance designed to cut German lateral communications, intending that the success of an attack would enable the entire front line to be advanced.[11]: 205–6 The main German defences were anchored on the Hindenburg Line, a series of defensive fortifications stretching from Cerny on the Aisne river to Arras.[21] Before Foch's main offensive was launched, the remaining German salients west and east of the line were crushed at Havrincourt and St Mihiel on 12 September and at the Battle of Épehy and the Battle of the Canal du Nord on 27 September.[11]: 217
The first attack of the Grand Offensive was launched on 26 September by the French and the AEF in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive (this offensive includes the battles of Somme-Py, Saint-Thierry, Montfaucon, and Chesne of 1 November). On 28 September, the Army Group under Albert I of Belgium (the Belgian Army, the British Second Army and the French Sixth Army), attacked near Ypres in Flanders (the Fifth Battle of Ypres). Both attacks made good progress initially but were then slowed by supply difficulties. The Grand Offensive involved attacking over difficult terrain, resulting in the Hindenburg Line not being broken until 17 October.[22]
On 29 September, the central attack on the Hindenburg Line commenced, with the British Fourth Army (with British, Australian and American forces)[23] attacking in the Battle of St Quentin Canal and the French First Army attacking fortifications outside St Quentin. By 5 October, the Allies had broken through the entire depth of the Hindenburg defences over a 19 mi (31 km) front.[20]: 123 General Rawlinson wrote, "Had the Boche [Germans] not shown marked signs of deterioration during the past month, I should never have contemplated attacking the Hindenburg line. Had it been defended by the Germans of two years ago, it would certainly have been impregnable…."
On 8 October, the First and Third British Armies broke through the Hindenburg Line at the Second Battle of Cambrai.[24] This collapse forced the German High Command to accept that the war had to be ended. The evidence of failing German morale also convinced many Allied commanders and political leaders that the war could be ended in 1918; previously, all efforts had been concentrated on building up forces to mount a decisive attack in 1919.
Subsequent operations
[edit]Through October, the German armies retreated through the territory gained in 1914. The Allies pressed the Germans back toward the lateral railway line from Metz to Bruges, which had supplied the front in northern France and Belgium for much of the war. As the Allied armies reached this line, the Germans were forced to abandon increasingly large amounts of heavy equipment and supplies, further reducing their morale and capacity to resist.[26]
The Allied and German armies suffered many casualties. Rearguard actions were fought during the Pursuit to the Selle (9 October), battles of Courtrai (14 October), Mont-d'Origny (15 October), the Selle (17 October), Lys and Escaut (20 October) (including the subsidiary battles of the Lys and of the Escaut), the Serre (20 October), Valenciennes (1 November), the Sambre (including the Second Battle of Guise) (4 November), and Thiérache (4 November), and the Passage of the Grande Honnelle (5 November), with fighting continuing until the Armistice took effect at 11:00 on 11 November 1918. The last soldier to die was Henry Gunther, one minute before the armistice came into effect.
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Allied Commander
- ^ Commander of the French Army
- ^ Commander of Army Group Centre
- ^ Commander of Army Group Reserve
- ^ Commander of Army Group East
- ^ Commander of BEF
- ^ Chief of Imperial General Staff of the British Army
- ^ Commander of AEF
- ^ Commander of Army Group Flanders
- ^ Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps
- ^ Divisional Commander of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps
- ^ Chief of the German Great General Staff
- ^ First Quartermaster General
- ^ First Quartermaster General
- ^ Commander of Army Group Gallwitz
- ^ Commander of Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria
- ^ Commander of Army Group German Crown Prince
- ^ Commander of Army Group Boehn
- ^ Commander of Army Group Albrecht
- ^ Also possessed 2,251 artillery pieces on the frontline out of the 3,500 total artillery pieces used by the Americans. Ayers p. 81
References
[edit]- ^ Caracciolo, M. Le truppe italiane in Francia. Mondadori. Milan 1929
- ^ Julien Sapori, Les troupes italiennes en France pendant la première guerre mondiale, éditions Anovi, 2008
- ^ a b Neiberg p. 95
- ^ a b Tucker 2014, p. 634.
- ^ Bond 1990, p. 20.
- ^ a b c Reid 2006, p. 448.
- ^ Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920, The War Office, pp. 356–357.
- ^ a b c d e Bean. The Australian Imperial Force in France during the Allied Offensive..
- ^ Monash, John (1920). "Chapter 5: The battle plan". The Australian Victories in France in 1918: the Battles of the Australian Army on the Western Front During the Final Year of the First World War. Black Inc. (published 2015). ISBN 9781863957458.
- ^ Perry, Roland (2004). Monash: The Outsider Who Won A War. Random House. pp. 532–539. ISBN 9780857982131.
- ^ a b c d Livesay, John Frederick Bligh (1919). Canada's Hundred Days: With the Canadian Corps from Amiens to Mons, Aug. 8 – Nov. 11, 1918. Toronto: Thomas Allen.
- ^ Christie, Norm M. (1999). For King and Empire: The Canadians at Amiens, August 1918. CEF Books. ISBN 1-896979-20-3.
- ^ Schreiber, Shane B. (2004) [1977]. Shock Army of the British Empire: the Canadian Corps in the last 100 days of the Great War. St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell. ISBN 1-55125-096-9.
- ^ Orgill, Douglas (1972). Armoured Onslaught: 8th August 1918. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-02608-X.
- ^ "Canada's Hundred Days". Canada: Veterans Affairs. 29 July 2004. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- ^ Dancocks, Daniel George (1987). Spearhead to Victory: Canada and the Great War. Hurtig. p. 294. ISBN 0-88830-310-6.
- ^ a b "History of the Great War – principal events timeline – 1918". Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ^ "Mont St Quentin – Peronne 31 August – 2 September 1918". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ^ "The Second Battles of Arras, 1918 – The Long, Long Trail". Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ^ a b c Hanotaux (1915). Histoire illustrée de la guerre de 1914.
- ^ Christie, Norm M. (2005) [1997]. The Canadians at Arras and the Drocourt–Queant Line, August–September, 1918. For King and Empire: A Social History and Battlefield Tour. CEF Books. ISBN 1-896979-43-2. OCLC 60369666.
- ^ "The German summer offensive and Soviet prospects", The Western Allies and Soviet Potential in World War II, Routledge, pp. 185–188, 27 March 2017, doi:10.4324/9781315682709-14, ISBN 9781315682709, retrieved 26 May 2022
- ^ Blair 2011, pp. 145–148.
- ^ Christie, Norm M. (1997). The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918. For King and Empire: A Social History and Battlefield Tour. CEF Books. ISBN 1-896979-18-1. OCLC 166099767.
- ^ Leonard P. Ayers, online The War with Germany: a statistical summary (1919) p 105
- ^ Wasserstein, Bernard (2007). Barbarism and Civilization: A History of Europe in Our Time. Oxford University Press. pp. 93–96. ISBN 978-0-1987-3074-3.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bond, Brian (2007). The Unquiet Western Front, Britain's Role in Literature and History. London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-03641-2.
- Bean, Charles Edwin Woodrow (1942). The Australian Imperial Force in France during the Allied Offensive. Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. VI. Angus and Robertson. OCLC 41008291. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- Blair, Dale (2011). The Battle of Bellicourt Tunnel: Tommies, Diggers and Doughboys on the Hindenburg Line, 1918. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1848325876.
- Christie, Norm M. (1999). For King and Empire, The Canadians at Amiens, August 1918. CEF Books. ISBN 1-896979-20-3.
- Christie, Norm M. (2005). The Canadians at Arras and the Drocourt–Queant Line, August–September, 1918. CEF Books. ISBN 1-896979-43-2. OCLC 60369666.
- Christie, Norm M. (1997). The Canadians at Cambrai and the Canal du Nord, August–September 1918. CEF Books. ISBN 1-896979-18-1.
- Dancocks, Daniel George (1987). Spearhead to Victory: Canada and the Great War. Hurtig. ISBN 0-88830-310-6. OCLC 16354705.
- Hanotaux, Gabriel (1924). Histoire Illustrée de la Guerre de 1914 (in French). Vol. 17. Paris: Gounouilhou. OCLC 175115527.
- Livesay, John Frederick Bligh (1919). Canada's Hundred Days. Thomas Allen. OCLC 471474361.
- Lloyd, Nick (2013). Hundred Days: The End of the Great War. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-92006-8.
- Montgomery, Sir A. (1920). The Story of Fourth Army in the Battles of the Hundred Days, August 8th to November 11th, 1918. London: Hodder & Stoughton. OCLC 682022494. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- Orgill, Douglas (1972). Armoured Onslaught: 8 August 1918. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-345-02608-X.
- Priestley, R. E. (1919). Breaking the Hindenburg Line: The Story of the 46th (North Midland) Division. London: Unwin. OCLC 671679006. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- Reid, Walter (2006). Architect of Victory: Douglas Haig. Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 978-1841585178.
- Schreiber, Shane B. (2004). Shock Army of the British Empire: The Canadian Corps in the Last 100 Days of the Great War. St.Catharine's, Ontario: Vanwell. ISBN 1-55125-096-9.
- Tucker, S. (2014). Zabecki, D. (ed.). Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-598-84980-6.
External links
[edit]- Lloyd, Nicholas: Hundred Days Offensive, in: 1914–1918 – online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War.
- Maps of Europe Archived 1 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine during the Allied Hundred Days Offensive at omniatlas.com
- Hundred Days Offensive
- Conflicts in 1918
- 1918 in France
- 1918 in Belgium
- Battles of the Western Front (World War I)
- Battles of World War I involving Australia
- Battles of World War I involving Belgium
- Battles of World War I involving British India
- Battles of World War I involving Canada
- Battles of World War I involving France
- Battles of World War I involving New Zealand
- Battles of World War I involving Newfoundland
- Battles of World War I involving Portugal
- Battles of World War I involving South Africa
- Battles involving Thailand
- Battles of World War I involving the United Kingdom
- Battles of World War I involving the United States
- Military operations of World War I involving Germany
- Military operations of World War I involving chemical weapons
- Wilhelm, German Crown Prince
- Paul von Hindenburg
- Philippe Pétain