By Joe Corrigan
When my grandfather, Charles O’Connor of Whitby, Ontario,
was inducted into the Canadian Army in May of 1918 the situation in Europe was
a desperate one for the allies. As previously noted, the Bolshevik Revolution
of November 1917 had led to Russia signing a separate peace with Germany. This,
in turn, freed up hundreds of thousands of German troops to transfer to the
Western Front tipping the balance of power in their favour. The Americans had been
in the war since April of 1917 but the logistical and training requirements of
building a huge army virtually from scratch was taking a great deal of time.
Their commander, General John Pershing, resisted pressure from his allies to
commit American troops as reserves for the French and British armies. This
desire to be a “national” army is understandable but, had the Americans
insisted on this course of action, it is unlikely they would have been able to
field a sizeable force on the battlefield until 1919.
In the meantime, the Germans launched their spring
offensive, code named Operation Michel, in March of 1918 in an attempt to split
the British and French armies and reach Paris before the American Expeditionary
Force could effectively intervene. By the end of May, the Germans were just 50
miles of the French capital. Close enough to shell the “City of Light” with
their long range railway artillery. Once again, much as they had done in the fall
of 1914, the allies held firm on the banks of the Marne River and the German
offensive’s momentum was halted. German offensives continued though the spring
and summer but, in doing so, the German High Command essentially exhausted
their army. The longstanding naval blockade of Germany was having a serious
impact on the German people who were at serious risk of starvation. It is well
documented that on many occasions during this series of offensives, the
ill-supplied German troops having captured allied territory, would stop
fighting. Their officers would be unable to stop them from looting the supplies
of food and drink they found in abundance behind the allied lines.
By August of 1918, the allies, having managed to check the
German progress, were ready to launch a series of counter offensives in one of
which the Canadian Expeditionary Force would play a leading role. From August 8th until November 11th, 1918 Canadians would be in the forefront of a campaign
which would become known as the “100 Days”. It would gain the Canadian Corps a
reputation for valour but at a terrible price.
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| Map of Allied Advances - Battle of Amiens |
On August 8th the Canadians were assigned the important objective of attacking a German held salient near Amiens in France. Secrecy was extremely important as the allies knew that if the Germans heard that the Canadians were moving into a sector they would know that an attack was imminent. Such was the respect the Canadians had earned from both sides after their victories at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. Prior to the attack, part of the Corps was sent north to Ypres in Belgium to deceive the Germans. As part of the surprise, the attack began at night with no preliminary bombardment. The Canadians, flanked by Australian and French troops and supported by British tanks, advanced 20 kilometers in 3 days. German Chief of Staff General Ludendorff, declared August 8th to be a “black day for the German Army”. August 8, 9 & 10 were also costly days for the Canadian Army having sustained 9,074 casualties, only slightly less than at Vimy 16 months before.
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| 8 August 1918 by Will Longstaff |
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| Amiens, The Key to the West by Arthur Streeton 1918 |
If you are interested in learning more about the lead up to the 100 Days Offensive check out the Great War YouTube series episode recapping the summer of 1918 at the following link: https://youtu.be/hb3a78Baxz8
Joe Corrigan was the Museum Manager at Lang Pioneer Village from February of 2003 until his retirement in May of 2018. He has been a lifelong student of history. His specific areas of interest are Canadian and world political, military and sports history with a particular focus on biographical works. 