Brief account of Canada's Last 100 days during WWI

1. Last Hundred Days
August 8,1918 to November 11, 1918
World War One

2. Canada’s Last 100 Days
• August 4 to November 11,
1918 has come to be known
as "Canada's Hundred Days"
of World War One
• Allies launch a series of
offensives along the Western
Front
• Fast moving infantry, mass
tank and artillery support,
surprise attacks
• Canadian Corps play a
significant role in leading
attacks
• Germans were unable to
concentrate efforts and lost
morale

3. Canada’s Last 100 Days
Result
• Demonstrated
Canadian military’s
strength and leadership
• Allied victories led to
the end of World War
One on November 11,
1918
▫ signing of the
Armistice

4. Canadian Operations
• The Battle of Amiens
8-11 August 1918
• The Battle of Arras,
26 Aug – 3 Sept 1918
• Canal du Nord &
Cambrai
27 Sept – 11 Oct 1918
• Capture Valenciennes
1-2 November 1918
http://www.ling.gu.se/projekt/sprakfrageladan/english/varldskarta/eur
ope.html
Canada & the Great War 1914-1918: A Nation Born,
Veteran Affairs Educational Resource

5. The Beginning: Battle of Amiens
• August 8-15, 1918
• Canadian troops moved secretly to Amiens
surprising the German forces
• Australian & Canadian Corps broke through
German line
▫ Create 24 km gap German line
• Battle ends on 15 August 1918
▫ Allies gained 22 km
▫ From now until end of the war
the Germans are on the defensive
▫ 9,074 Canadian casualties
▫ 30, 000 German Casualties
Canadian armoured car going into action.
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?

6. Battle of Amiens
Result:
• August 8, 1918 German morale depleted “…
the blackest day of the German Army in the
history of the war.”
– German commander-in-chief, General Ludendorff
• Canada’s victory at Amiens was “…the
finest operation of the war.”
– British general Sir Julian Byng
• Canadians advanced 13 kilometres in the
morning, taking over 5,000 prisoners at a
cost of less than 4,000 casualties

7. Canadians on the Move
• August 27 – September 2,
1918: The Battle of Arras
▫ Canadian Corps launched
multiple attacks that broke
through the German defenses
▫ Currie regarded the breaching
of the line as "one of the finest
feats in our history."
• September 3, 1918: Canal Du
Nord
▫ Currie planned and executed
a brilliant attack
▫ Canadian Corps controls all
ground west of the Canal du
Nord
Canadians constructing a bridge across Canal du
Nord. Advance east of Arras.
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?
source=feature/hundreddays&filter=range&start=41

8. Canadians on the Move
• Cambrai
▫ Stiff defense by the Germans
▫ October 6th Canadians took
Cambrai
▫ October 17th Germans were in full
retreat
• November 1-2, 1918: Valenciennes
▫ Canadians take the City with
coordinated use of artillery and
infantry
• November 10-11, 1918
▫ Canadians enter Mons and capture
the city
• At 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918
the Armistice was signed
• Hundred Days solidified Canada’s
reputation for military excellence
Mons was the site of the
first engagement of
German and British
forces leading General
Horn to write to Currie,
“The capture of Mons
at the last moment is a
splendid crowning
achievement on the
part of the Canadian
Corps. It is, I think,
just about the best
thing that could have
happened.”

9. Sources
• http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/firstwar/canada/c
• http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?
source=feature/hundreddays&filter=range&start=1
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days_Offensive
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_troops_on_Arras-
_Cambrai_road-1918.jpg
• http://www.brainerddispatch.com/history/pages/640/640_Armistice_1111
1918.jpg
• passchendaelethemovie.com/Canada_In_The_Great_War/war_years_hun
dred_day_offensive.html
• Canada and the Great War 1914 to 1918: A Nation Born
▫ Veteran Affairs Educational Resource

10. Sources
• http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/firstwar/canada/c
• http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?
source=feature/hundreddays&filter=range&start=1
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days_Offensive
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canadian_troops_on_Arras-
_Cambrai_road-1918.jpg
• http://www.brainerddispatch.com/history/pages/640/640_Armistice_1111
1918.jpg
• passchendaelethemovie.com/Canada_In_The_Great_War/war_years_hun
dred_day_offensive.html
• Canada and the Great War 1914 to 1918: A Nation Born
▫ Veteran Affairs Educational Resource