The Hundred Days offensive lasted between August 8 – November 11, 1918. It was a large-scale offensive of Entente troops against the German army. It ended with the defeat of the German forces. The Hundred Days offensive consisted of several offensive operations. The British, Australian, Belgian, Canadian, American and French troops participated in this decisive offensive.
Before the Offensive
The German offensive concluded in July 1918. The German army had reached the shores of the Marne, but there they were defeated. After the victory on the Marne, the allies developed a plan for the final defeat of the German army. Marshal Foch came to the conclusion that the time had come for a large-scale offensive. The number of American Expeditionary Corps in France was brought to 1,200,000 by mid-1918, which neutralized the numerical superiority of the German army achieved after the Brest Peace. British troops also received reinforcements from Palestine.
The Somme River was chosen for the main offensive, in conjunction with Field Marshal Haig and Foch for several reasons. First, it was a border between French and British troops. Second, it was flat terrain, which allowed the use of tanks. And, the area on the Somme was occupied by a weakened 2nd German Army, which was exhausted by the constant raids by Australians. One huge advantage the Allies had over the Germans was their superiority in the number of tanks.
Amiens Operation
On August 8, artillery opened a powerful barrage on command and observation posts, communications centers and rear support facilities of the 2nd German Army. At the same time, a third of the artillery organized broad artillery coverage , under the cover of which divisions of the 4th British Army, accompanied by 415 tanks, launched an attack.
The Anglo-French offensive was a complete surprise to the German command. The fog and mass explosions of chemical and smoke shells hid everything that was beyond 10-15 meters from positions of the German infantry. Before then, the German command had been able to understand the situation. Tanks fell on the German positions, firing from machine guns and destroying telegraph and telephone lines. The headquarters of several German divisions was taken by surprise by the rapidly advancing British infantry and tanks. The breakthrough of German defenses developed almost perfectly as planned. German troops lost up to 27,000 casualties in one day as well as a large amount of different military assets.
On August 9, allied forces resumed their offensive. The offensive was now across the entire front, but it was moving at a slower pace. German artillery was reinforced to conduct anti-tank defense; a result of which were significant British and French losses tanks.
On August 12, clashes were only in isolated sectors of the front. By the end of the day, the German troops were pushed to the line of Albert, Bray, and Shawn. By August 13, the Allies’ advance had completely ceased.
Anglo-French troops successfully carried out the tasks assigned to them. They advanced from 10 to 18 km on the front at 75 km, eliminating the threat to Amiens and the Paris-Amiens railway. The loss of German troops amounted to about 48,000, of which were 30,000 prisoners. The British and French lost about 60,000 casualties.
The success of the operation was due to the insightful selection of the breakthrough section, where the German defenses had the thinnest depth and were poorly equipped. The overwhelming superiority of allied forces, the thorough preparation, the surprise of the attack and the massive use of tanks ensured success.
On the morning of August 20, the 10th French Army launched an offensive at the front from Soissons to the Oise River. By August 23, it had advanced to the Oise and Ellet Rivers.
On August 30, the Allied offensive continued first on the flanks, and then in the center, with the aim of preventing the German troops from gaining a foothold ahead of the Hindenburg line. The threat from both flanks forced the German command to issue an order on September 2 to further withdraw. The retreat began on the night of September 3 and continued almost without interference from the enemy. On September 8, German troops occupied the positions at the front from Arras to the Ellet River, from which they began a spring offensive.
Saint-Muel Operation
The 1st American Army and the 2nd French colonial corps were involved in this offensive. The plan was developed jointly by the French and American staff and involved two strikes along converging lines under the base of the ledge in order to encircle the German troops stationed there. The main blow was applied along the southern side of the ledge, the auxiliary one – along with the western side. The offensive was initially set for September 10, but since French heavy artillery did not take its’ positions in time, the operation had to be postponed until September 12. The Saint-Muel operation was the first independent operation by the American army. Despite the success achieved during the offensive, the shortcomings in the combat training of troops and the lack of experience of the American commanders was obvious.
End
On October 14, the Allies resumed their offensive along the entire front. Retreating, the German troops destroyed everything they could, especially bridges, railroads, and highways. All the bridges were turned into piles of rubble, steam locomotives were run into them to slow any repairs. Supports were shattered, and the embankments on the approaches to the bridges were destroyed. The destruction caused by the retreat of the German troops contributed considerably to the slowing of the Allied advance. In some places, they even lost engagement with the retreating enemy because of this. By October 20, the German troops were completely pushed back. The Entente’s general offensive had given the last, deadly blow to the German army. The front was falling apart. Germany was finally defeated in WWI after four long years of fighting.
Source:
- Brian Bond. The Unquiet Western Front, Britain’s Role in Literature and History
- CEW Bean. Official Histories – First World War, Volume VI – The Australian Imperial Force in France during the Allied Offensive
- Norm M. Christie
- Daniel George Dancocks Spearhead to Victory-Canada and the Great War
- Gabriel Hanotaux. Histoire Illustree de la Guerre de 1914
- JFB Livesay. Canada’s Hundred Days. Thomas Allen (1919)
- Douglas Orgill (1972). Armored onslaught: August 8, 1918
- Shane B. Schreiber (2004). Shock army of the British Empire