Canada's Hundred Days
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canada's Hundred Days refers to the last 96 days of World War I, from August 8 to November 11 of 1918. It is called Canada's Hundred Days because the Canadians had been the main factor in causing the German retreat and eventual defeat. During this time, the Canadian Corps fought at Amiens, the Hindenburg Line, the Canal du Nord, Bourlon Wood, Denain, Valenciennes and finally at Mons, on the final day of the First World War.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The German offensives on the Western Front beginning with Operation Michael in March 1918 had petered out by July. The Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. At this time, Ferdinand Foch ordered the Allies to return to the offensive, as the Americans were in France, increasing the morale of the Allies. The British Army had also been reinforced by large numbers of troops returning from battles in Palestine and Italy. In addition, they received large numbers of replacements previously held back in Britain by Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Foch agreed on a proposal by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), to strike on the Somme, east of Amiens and southwest of the 1916 battlefield of the Battle of the Somme. The Somme was chosen as a suitable site for the offensive for several reasons. As in 1916, it marked the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, in this case defined by the Amiens-Roye road, allowing the two armies to cooperate. The Canadians were chosen to help spearhead the attack, along with the Australians.
[edit] Battles
[edit] Battle of Amiens
The Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August 1918, with an attack by more than 10 Australian and Canadian divisions. These divisions also had more than 500 tanks, which helped to cut the numerous barbed wire defences that the Germans used. Through careful preparations, the Allies achieved complete surprise, although the Canadian Corps had to travel over 50 miles to get there. The first day of the attack was the most successful in the entire War, as the Australian Corps and Canadian Corps, broke through the German lines, pushing 8 miles. The tanks were very successful in this battle, as they attacked German rear positions, creating panic and confusion. The subsequent collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it "the Black Day of the German Army".
The advance continued for three more days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery. The Allies had managed to gain 12 miles in total, but the Germans were pouring in reinforcements. [1] On 10 August, the Germans had been forced to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, back towards the Hindenburg Line. After this, the Amiens operation was halted, and the Canadians moved back to where they were previously to attack the Hindenburg Line.
[edit] Breaking the Hindenburg Line
In Arras, the Canadians attacked eastward, smashing the outer defence lines near the powerful Drocourt-Queant line, which was connected to the Hindenburg line, along the Arras-Cambrai road. On 2 September 1918, the Canadian Corps, smashed the Drocourt-Queant line, and broke its main support position, taking 5622 casualties, which brought the total losses of the Arras-Cambrai operation up to 11,423 casualties. After this, the Germans retreated across the Canal du Nord, which was almost completely flooded.
At the Battle of the Canal du Nord, following up the breaking of the Hindenburg line, the Canadians used a complex manoeuvre to attack along the side of the canal through a dry, unfinished section. The Canadians built bridges and crossed the canal at night, surprising the Germans with an attack in the morning. This proved the effectiveness of Canadian engineers, in constructing new roads to cross the canal efficiently, without the Germans noticing. The specialisation of troops and formally organised battalions of combat engineers was effective, as it allowed the soldiers to have some rest, instead of working every day that they were not attacking.
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.) As the war neared its end, the Canadian Corps pressed on towards Germany, strengthening its reputation as one of the most feared and respected military formations of the war.
[edit] Memorial
Over this period, the Canadian Corps' four over-strength Divisions of 100 000 men, defeated and/or put to flight 34 German Divisions, roughly one quarter of the German forces fighting on the Western Front. [2] The Canadian divisions were over-strength because the British had changed the size of the battalions in the middle of the war due to the shortage of men [3], but the Canadians did not have to, as they implemented conscription. Along with the battles of Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, Canada's Hundred Days cemented the reputation of the Canadian Corps as a tough and professional fighting force amongst its allies and foes. Today, three war memorials stand in commemoration of the actions of the Canadians along the route they took to Mons during the Hundred Days Offensive. The Battle of Amiens is commemorated by the le Quesnel Memorial, the battle at the Drocourt-Quéant Line is commemorated by the Dury Memorial, and the crossing of the Canal du Nord and the Battle of Bourlon Wood is paid tribute by the Bourlon Wood Memorial.
