The Last 100 Days The “Final Push” of the Great War.

The Last 100 Days

The “Final Push” of the Great War

The Status of the War(January 1917)

Building Up to the Last 100 Days

Submarine Warfare & USA Fights• Germany needed to cut

off the supplies going to Britain in order to halt their war effort.

• Germany used the submarine to destroy Allied supply ships and merchant vessels.

• Some neutral countries (including the USA) sold supplies and war materiel to Britain.

• To prevent this, in 1917 Germany declared “Unrestricted Submarine Warfare”, claiming the right to sink any ship supplying the Allies

• After sinking a number of “neutral” targets, the Germans sunk the Lusitania a passenger liner with many Americans on board.

• This shocked the American public and the USA soon joined the Triple Entente against an already exhausted Germany

Russia Bows Out- The war was going badly for Russia and the Tsar (Nicholas II) was extremely unpopular- A new philosophy called “Communism” was becoming popular.

•Communism:

– Gov’t ownership of all land and factories Elimination of “classes” (rich/poor),

– all were supposed to be equal – the forcible redistribution of private wealth

– Focus was on creating a “workers’ paradise” in which all would share equally in the wealth of the state

– Championed the plight of the “working classes” against the “greedy, rich parasites”

• The Communists (led by Vladimir Lenin) called for a revolution to overthrow the Tsar and bring an end to the war

• In 1917, the Communists took control of Russia and executed the royal family.

• They signed a treaty with Germany to end the war, but Russia had to give up a large chunk of western territory in exchange for peace – Germany could now concentrate her forces on the Western Front

Vladimir Lenin

Tsar’s family (Romanov)

The Status of the War (Jan.,1917)

The German Offensive

• In February, 1918, Germany sent 178 divisions towards the Allied lines, focusing their might towards Paris

• Although they attacked the British and French troops, they avoided the areas where Canadians were stationed.

• Due to past experience, the Germans feared that fighting the tough Canadian troops would slow down their offensive and be too costly.

• The initial German assault was extremely effective and the Allies (British and French) were pushed back, losing the ground they had previously won.

• The German offensive was finally stopped at the Marne River.

• The attack had come within 80KM of Paris.• With the Germans halted, the Allies decided it was

time to counter-attack!

The “100 Days” BeginsCanada Leads the Way!

• On Aug. 8, 1918, Allied troops began an attack on German lines at Amiens.

• They included French, British and Australian soldiers, but Canadian troops led the assault.

• They did not start with an artillery barrage, so that the enemy would have no warning.

• Over 500 tanks were used in the initial assault and they quickly broke the German lines of defense.

• In 3 days, the Allies pushed the Germans back an astounding 37KM, liberating 25 French towns.

• The Germans suffered 27,000 casualties and 15,000 Germans troops were captured.

• Canadian losses totaled 4000 dead.• The German lines were decisively broken and they

retreated in disarray

They Just Kept Going!

• After Amiens, the Allies stayed on the offensive.

• With the addition of thousands of U.S. troops, they were able to mount a massive attack on the Somme.

• This pushed the Germans back another 55KM and cost them thousands of men.

• Canadian troops were once again “in the thick” of the battle

Breaking the Hindenburg Line• The Hindenburg Line was a

series of defensive fortifications built by the Germans on conquered land after their initial attack and had been held since 1914.

• On Sept. 26, 1918, combined Allied forces, with Canadians playing a major role, began a final assault on the Line.

• Within hours, the line had been smashed and the Germans were once again retreating.

The Pursuit

• German forces were now being pushed quickly back towards their own border.

• As Allied forces moved eastward towards Germany, they liberated the many French and Belgian towns that had been captured in 1914.

• Canadian troops were responsible for liberating much of Belgium in 1918.

“The 11th of the 11th of the 11th”

• The German army was in retreat, but it was still fighting a rear-guard action. It was never truly routed by the Allied forces.

• The German High Command knew that time was short and that the enemy would soon cross their borders.

• In order to preserve their border and avoid invasion, the Germans began peace negotiations with the Allies.

• The negotiations took place in the private railway car of the French commander.

• The German commanders knew that they had little to negotiate with and would most likely have to accept whatever terms the Allies offered.

• During the negotiations, the Kaiser (king of Germany) abdicated his thrown.

• Despite the harsh conditions imposed by the Allies, Germany signed the armistice on November 11, 1918 at 5:20AM.

• It was to take effect at 11:00AM that day.

The Final Shot• News of the coming armistice

spread through the armies on both sides. The fighting would stop at exactly 11:00AM on November 11, 1918.

• However, in order to try and gain as best a post-war bargaining position as possible, each side kept fighting up until the last minute.

• At 10:58AM, Nov. 11, 1918, Private George Lawrence Price was killed by a German sniper.

• He was Canada’s final casualty of WWI