The Final 100 Days - August 27, 1918

75 Days Until Armistice

The previous day’s advance on the southern front had ended only a kilometre and a half from Cherisy, with the village of Vis-En-Artois close by as well. These would be the objectives of the day for the 2nd Division under Henry Burstall, while Louis Lipsett’s 3rd Division assaulted Bois du Vert, Bois du Vert, and the village of Boiry

Stiff German defences and a mud-ridden, slippery battlefield made the day one of the most difficult of the war. Despite this, obstacles were overcome, and objectives secured.

Bois du Vert and Bois du Sart fell to the 58th and 52nd Battalions, while the 43rd gained a foothold in Vis-en-Artois. Cherisy fell at midday to a joint assault from the 22nd, 24th, and 26th Battalions. 

Despite the successes of the day, German defences had inflicted punishing casualties on the attacking Canadians. More than anything, they demonstrated that the morale of the German Army still existed, and the strength of the Fresnes-Rouvroy Line (which the Canadians would assault on the 28th).

The Final 100 Days - August 26, 1918

Once again, a near insurmountable task lay before the Canadian Corps. The inherent difficulty of the operation was made worse by two factors - the Germans’ knowledge that the Canadians were in the area, and the absence of an artillery barrage preceding the battle. 

Realizing this, Currie made the decision to begin the campaign with a night attack. Although beginning an assault in the pitch black was certainly risky, it seemed a safer option than launching an assault in broad daylight. The early morning of August 26th was made worse by a drenching rain falling on the Corps. 

Despite the rough start, the day was a success for the Corps. The 2nd, 4th, and 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles captured Orange Hill and Monchy early in the day, while the Royal Canadians engaged in stiff trench fighting. The villages of Guemappe, Wancourt, and Neuville-Vitasse all fell firmly under Canadian control as well. 

Though not of the same magnitude as Amiens, the Canadians had advanced an astonishing 5.5 kilometres before digging in. The heavy rain that had fell that morning continued, turning the battlefield into muck, and making the next day’s work even more difficult.

The Final 100 Days - August 25, 1918

77 Days Until Armistice

Arras

The German Army was not oblivious to the movements made in the Arras sector. Fully aware of the Canadians’ status as “shock troops”, the preparedness of German forces in the area only made the task ahead more difficult. 

Initially considered for an August 25th start date, General Arthur Currie postponed the attack until the following morning. Objectives were given to the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions, who would be the muscle behind the first stages of the campaign. While elements of the 2nd Division moved on Wancourt & Chapel Hill, the 3rd would move to capture Monchy and the infamous Orange Hill. 

Elsewhere, elements of the British Army captured the villages of Le Sars, Martinpuich, and the key village of Mametz. 
 

The Final 100 Days - August 24, 1918

78 Days Until Armistice

As the Canadians poured into Arras, the Allied Forces to chip away at German defences along the Western Front.

At Amiens, the French and British Third Armies kept manpower and munitions away from the Arras Region, while inflicting crippling blows on General Otto Von Below’s 17th Army - taking over 5000 prisoners, and gaining valuable ground.

Though faced with extremely difficult circumstances, based on the topography of the land and the resilience of the defending forces, the Canadian Corps were aided by their prior experience in the area during the campaigns of 1917. Moreover, they had a number of unused plans from 1917 which, if altered to suit the needs of the 1918 campaigns, could be equally effective. 

The Final 100 Days - August 23, 1918 - The Second Battle of the Somme

79 Days Until Armistice

Not every day on the Western Front bore witness to a massive offensive. For most of the war, troops on both sides lingered in the lines. Smoking, trying to force the lice out of their clothes, and occasionally taking potshots at the men across the battlefield. Trench life was at one time both boring and nerve-wracking. But this changed with the unorthodox tactics utilized by the Allies during the Hundred Days Campaign. With the British Third and Fourth Armies engaging the Germans at Albert, the Canadian Corps launched a daylight raid to capture a sugar factory just south of Neuville-Vitasse. All the while, Canadian Corps Commander Arthur Currie was planning an assault on Arras, just to the east.

The Final 100 Days - August 22, 1918

80 Days Until Armistice

Opening with a bang, the Second Battle of the Somme represented much more than just an objective for the Allies. The disastrous 1916 offensive had seen the Allied forces at their worst, and was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. Two years later saw the Allies poised to smash through the German Army and end the First World War.

The New Zealand Rifle Brigade had opened the battle the day before, capturing the town of Puiseux and 100 prisoners before the British 5th Division took over their positions. A day’s gain of 3.2 kilometres lent some momentum to the next day’s offensive – however, Field Marshal Julian Byng thought it best to consolidate the gains, providing a strong “jump-off” point for further offensives. Though a quiet day overall, probing attacks were carried out by the German 17th Army, setting up engagements for the following day.

The Final 100 Days - August 21, 1918 - The Second Battle of the Somme

81 Days Until Armistice

With steady, if slow, advances taking places each day along the Western Front, the Allies had recaptured most of the ground they had lost to the Germans during the Spring Offensive. Most of what had been recovered happened to be the shell torn mire known as the Somme. For two years, some of the most brutal fighting of the First World War took place at the Somme, and a final offensive to finally push through the hellish battlefield commenced on the 20th of August.

Aimed at capturing the city of Albert, the second battle of the Somme included every nation fighting on the Western Front; France, America, Britain, and her colonies. Alongside the Canadian Corps, the corps from Australia and New Zealand played a pivotal role in the coming days, securing some of the greatest military achievements of the war. The Canadians would play a strong role in battle, but later on in the month.

The Final 100 Days - August 20, 1918

82 Days Until Armistice

Julian Byng

By August 20th, the Allied Forces under Ferdinand Foch had secured astonishing gains. The Canadian Corps alone had penetrated over 22 kilometres into German territory, recovering ground that had been lost in the Spring Offensives. Though significant progress had been (and continued to be) made in whittling down the German war machine, the blood cost of these victories had been high - 11,822 casualties over the course of 13 days.

Understandably, the 4th Army under Julian Byng advanced with caution, but did not produce the same results. Fresh assaults along the entirety of the Western Front tried to grind down the Germans, if only through a war of attrition. Small victories were celebrated every day, but a total Allied victory rested on an explosive breakthrough.

The Final 100 Days - August 19, 1918

89 Days Until Armistice

The plans were in motion. The next strike made by the Allies would be in the Arras region – one that the Canadians were familiar with. The previous years’ offensives in Arras saw the Corps come together as one and capture Vimy Ridge, in a battle considered to have forged a national identity. A year of battle had neither diminished nor dimmed that national identity, only strengthening it, as the Canadians began being driven by bus and taken by train northwards to join the British First Army in the sector.

The Final 100 Days - August 18, 2018

90 Days Until Armistice

The Allies and their constituent forces were in a tight spot. The surprise assault at Amiens had routed the German Army – but although they had been beaten, they had not been broken. The stabilization of German defenses meant the Allies could no longer achieve the same successes they had achieved on the 8th of August, and that (in the words of Sir Arthur Currie) restarting the operation would “cost a great many casualties”. It was apparent that the campaign must continue, but within a different sector on the Western Front.

While the French First Army (under General Marie-Eugene Debeney) and British Fourth Army under Henry Rawlinson would keep the German forces occupied in the Roye region, the might of the Allies would be unleashed on a less-suspecting, less-prepared region. On the 18th, plans were finalized. A French offensive just north of the Aisne River would be supported by British forces, on familiar ground – Arras.