Canada's Hundred Days
Encyclopedia
Canada’s Hundred Days was a series of attacks made along the Western Front
by the Canadian Corps
during the Hundred Days Offensive
of World War I. Reference to this period as Canada's Hundred Days is due to the substantial role the Canadian Corps
of the British First Army
played in causing the defeat and/or retreat of the German Army
in a series of major battles from Amiens
to Mons
which along with other Allied offensives ultimately led to Germany's final defeat and surrender. Though generally referred to as the 'Hundred Days' in the English-speaking world outside of Canada, the period is more frequently recognized in Belgium and France—particularly in the areas in which the Canadians fought—as "les cent jours du Canada." During this time, the Canadian Corps
fought at Amiens, Arras
, the Hindenburg Line
, the Canal du Nord
, Bourlon Wood
, Cambrai
, Denain
, Valenciennes
and finally at Mons
, on the final day of the First World War.
In terms of numbers, during those 96 days the Canadian Corps' four over-strength or 'heavy' divisions
of roughly 100 000 men, engaged and defeated or put to flight elements of forty seven German divisions, which represented one quarter of the German forces fighting on the Western Front. However their successes came at a heavy cost, the Canadians suffered 20% of their battle-sustained casualties of the war during the same period.
in March 1918 had petered out by July. The Germans, recognizing 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 Canadian Corps was at this point part of the British Fourth Army under General Henry Rawlinson
.
& Passchendaele) Allied command had developed an understanding that the Germans had learned to suspect and prepare for an attack when they found the Canadians were moved in and massed on a new sector of the front lines. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
reflected this attitude when he wrote in his memoirs: “Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst.”.
As such, when it was decided the Canadians with the Australians would spearhead the centre of the attack at Amiens the decision was taken that the movement of the Canadian Corps to Amiens would be kept as secret as possible. A deception operation was devised to conceal and misrepresent the Canadians position in the front. False radio traffic was created to indicate the Canadians were in Calais and a small unit was posted in the Ypres sector and made their presence there overtly recognizable. Meanwhile, the majority of the Canadian Corps was marched to Amiens in secret and was even kept out of the sight of fellow Allied units to maintain the secrecy of their movements.
The battle began in dense fog
at 4:20 am on August 8, 1918. Under Rawlinson's Fourth Army, the British III Corps attacked north of the Somme, the Australian Corps to the south of the river in the centre of Fourth Army's front, and the Canadian Corps to the south of the Australians. The French 1st Army under General Debeney opened its preliminary bombardment at the same time, and began its advance 45 minutes later. The operation was supported by more than 500 tanks, which helped to cut through the numerous barbed wire defences employed by the Germans.
Noteworthy for the attack was that it was not preceded by any substantial (multiple day) preparatory artillery barrage. The general staff had decided that a preparatory barrage would serve as a warning to the Germans that an attack was forthcoming and may give them cause to move reinforcements and additional artillery into the area. It was hoped that to make up for the lack of preparatory barrage that the rolling barrage the infantry would advance behind and the tanks that would accompany them would cut paths through the German barbed wire and other defenses through which the men could advance.
The first day of the attack the attacking forces broke through the German lines in dramatic fashion, with the Canadians pushing as far as eight miles (or thirteen kilometers) from their starting points. 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 August 8, 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. On August 10, 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, holding Fouquescourt
, Maucourt
, Chilly
and Hallu
in the Arras Sector.
), along the Arras-Cambrai
road. On September 2, 1918, the Canadian Corps, smashed the Drocourt-Quéant 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 first breaking of the Hindenburg line, the Canadians used a complex manoeuvre to attack along the side of the canal through an unfinished dry section. The Canadians built bridges and crossed the canal at night, surprising the Germans with an attack in the morning. This proved the ability of Canadian engineers to construct new roads to cross the canal efficiently without the Germans noticing. The specialisation of troops and formally organised battalions of combat engineers was also effective as it allowed the soldiers to rest instead of working every day that they were not actively attacking.
The Canadians then broke the Hindenburg line
a second time, this time during the Battle of Cambrai
, (which along with the Australian, British and American break further south at the Battle of St. Quentin Canal
) resulted in a collapse of German morale.
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.)
and Valenciennes
in France and finally Mons
in Belgium where they pushed the Germans out of the town on November 10–11. Mons was, ironically, where the British had engaged the German armies for the first time in battle
in the Great War on August 23, 1914. As such, Mons is considered by some to be considered the place where the war both began and ended for the British Empire
.
Some criticism was leveled at Canadian Corps commander Arthur Currie
by Sam Hughes
and others for needlessly wasting lives to capture Mons once it was known that the armistice was imminent. They claimed the soldiers who were killed and wounded in taking Mons were sacrificed for not a strategic, but a symbolic objective. The allegations even appeared in print in newspapers run by Hughes' family which led to Currie launching and winning a libel lawsuit against Hughes' son Garnet
and others after the war.
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 le Quesnel Memorial
, the battle at the Drocourt-Quéant Line is commemorated by the Dury Memorial
, and the crossing of the Canal du Nord, the Battle of Bourlon Wood and the Battle of Cambrai
is paid tribute by the Bourlon Wood Memorial
.
Additionally, the Canadian liberation of Mons is commemorated on a plaque that is on display in the entrance of the City Hall of Mons, just off of the Grand Place. The plaque reads:
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
by the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
during the Hundred Days Offensive
Hundred Days Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...
of World War I. Reference to this period as Canada's Hundred Days is due to the substantial role the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
of the British First Army
British First Army
The First Army was a field army of the British Army that existed during the First and Second World Wars. Despite being a British command, the First Army also included Indian and Portuguese forces during the First World War and American and French during the Second World War.-First World War:The...
played in causing the defeat and/or retreat of the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
in a series of major battles from Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
to Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
which along with other Allied offensives ultimately led to Germany's final defeat and surrender. Though generally referred to as the 'Hundred Days' in the English-speaking world outside of Canada, the period is more frequently recognized in Belgium and France—particularly in the areas in which the Canadians fought—as "les cent jours du Canada." During this time, the Canadian Corps
Canadian Corps
The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
fought at Amiens, Arras
Second Battle of the Somme (1918)
During the First World War, the Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought on the Western Front from the end of the summer, in the basin of the Somme River...
, the Hindenburg Line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
, the Canal du Nord
Battle of the Canal du Nord
The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts...
, Bourlon Wood
Bourlon Wood Memorial
The Bourlon Wood Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred Days Offensive...
, Cambrai
Battle of Cambrai (1918)
The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
, Denain
Denain
It is the largest of 39 communes which comprise the association of communes of Porte du Hainaut, with a total population of 147,989, as of 1999. Denain had a population of 20,360, on a land area of 11.52 km² .-References:* -External links:...
, Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
and finally at Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
, on the final day of the First World War.
In terms of numbers, during those 96 days the Canadian Corps' four over-strength or 'heavy' divisions
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of roughly 100 000 men, engaged and defeated or put to flight elements of forty seven German divisions, which represented one quarter of the German forces fighting on the Western Front. However their successes came at a heavy cost, the Canadians suffered 20% of their battle-sustained casualties of the war during the same period.
Background
The German offensives on the Western Front beginning with Operation MichaelSpring Offensive
The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht , also known as the Ludendorff Offensive, was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during World War I, beginning on 21 March 1918, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914...
in March 1918 had petered out by July. The Germans, recognizing their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. At this time, Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...
ordered the Allies to return to the offensive, as the Americans
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
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
Sinai and Palestine Campaign
The Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
and Italy
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
. In addition, they received large numbers of replacements previously held back in Britain by Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
. Foch agreed on a proposal by Field Marshal
Field Marshal
Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...
, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), to strike on the Somme
Somme River
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....
, east of Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
and southwest of the 1916 battlefield of the Battle of the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
. 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 Canadian Corps was at this point part of the British Fourth Army under General Henry Rawlinson
Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson
General Henry Seymour Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson, GCB, GCSI, GCVO, KCMG , known as Sir Henry Rawlinson, Bt between 1895 and 1919, was a British First World War general most famous for his roles in the Battle of the Somme of 1916 and the Battle of Amiens in 1918.-Military career:Rawlinson was...
.
Battle of Amiens
As the Canadians had often come to be used as a spearhead, or front line force employed where fighting was going to be most difficult, (See the Somme, VimyBattle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
& Passchendaele) Allied command had developed an understanding that the Germans had learned to suspect and prepare for an attack when they found the Canadians were moved in and massed on a new sector of the front lines. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
reflected this attitude when he wrote in his memoirs: “Whenever the Germans found the Canadian Corps coming into the line they prepared for the worst.”.
As such, when it was decided the Canadians with the Australians would spearhead the centre of the attack at Amiens the decision was taken that the movement of the Canadian Corps to Amiens would be kept as secret as possible. A deception operation was devised to conceal and misrepresent the Canadians position in the front. False radio traffic was created to indicate the Canadians were in Calais and a small unit was posted in the Ypres sector and made their presence there overtly recognizable. Meanwhile, the majority of the Canadian Corps was marched to Amiens in secret and was even kept out of the sight of fellow Allied units to maintain the secrecy of their movements.
The battle began in dense fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
at 4:20 am on August 8, 1918. Under Rawlinson's Fourth Army, the British III Corps attacked north of the Somme, the Australian Corps to the south of the river in the centre of Fourth Army's front, and the Canadian Corps to the south of the Australians. The French 1st Army under General Debeney opened its preliminary bombardment at the same time, and began its advance 45 minutes later. The operation was supported by more than 500 tanks, which helped to cut through the numerous barbed wire defences employed by the Germans.
Noteworthy for the attack was that it was not preceded by any substantial (multiple day) preparatory artillery barrage. The general staff had decided that a preparatory barrage would serve as a warning to the Germans that an attack was forthcoming and may give them cause to move reinforcements and additional artillery into the area. It was hoped that to make up for the lack of preparatory barrage that the rolling barrage the infantry would advance behind and the tanks that would accompany them would cut paths through the German barbed wire and other defenses through which the men could advance.
The first day of the attack the attacking forces broke through the German lines in dramatic fashion, with the Canadians pushing as far as eight miles (or thirteen kilometers) from their starting points. 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
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff was a German general, victor of Liège and of the Battle of Tannenberg...
to dub it "the Black Day of the German Army".
The advance continued for three more days but without the spectacular results of August 8, 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. On August 10, 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
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
. After this, the Amiens operation was halted, and the Canadians moved back to where they were previously to attack the Hindenburg Line, holding Fouquescourt
Fouquescourt
Fouquescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Fouquescourt is situated southeast of Amiens on the D161 road.-Population:-External links:*...
, Maucourt
Maucourt, Somme
Maucourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Maucourt is situated on the D29 road, about southeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
, Chilly
Chilly, Somme
Chilly is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Chilly is situated on the D39 road, some southeast of Amiens.-Population:-External links:*...
and Hallu
Hallu
Hallu is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Hallu is situated on the D39 road, some southeast of Amiens, just a few hundred yards from the A1 autoroute.-Population:-External links:*...
in the Arras Sector.
Breaking the Hindenburg Line
In Arras, the Canadians attacked eastward, smashing the outer defence lines near the powerful Drocourt-Quéant Line (the Wotan Stellung section of the Hindenburg lineHindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
), along the Arras-Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
road. On September 2, 1918, the Canadian Corps, smashed the Drocourt-Quéant 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.
Battle of the Canal du Nord
The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts...
, following up the first breaking of the Hindenburg line, the Canadians used a complex manoeuvre to attack along the side of the canal through an unfinished dry section. The Canadians built bridges and crossed the canal at night, surprising the Germans with an attack in the morning. This proved the ability of Canadian engineers to construct new roads to cross the canal efficiently without the Germans noticing. The specialisation of troops and formally organised battalions of combat engineers was also effective as it allowed the soldiers to rest instead of working every day that they were not actively attacking.
The Canadians then broke the Hindenburg line
Hindenburg Line
The Hindenburg Line was a vast system of defences in northeastern France during World War I. It was constructed by the Germans during the winter of 1916–17. The line stretched from Lens to beyond Verdun...
a second time, this time during the Battle of Cambrai
Battle of Cambrai (1918)
The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
, (which along with the Australian, British and American break further south at the Battle of St. Quentin Canal
Battle of the Hindenburg Line
The Battle of St Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces in the spearhead attack and as a single combined force against the German Siegfried Stellung of the Hindenburg Line...
) resulted in a collapse of German morale.
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.)
Pursuit to Mons
As the war neared its end, the Canadian Corps pressed on towards Germany and the final phase of the war for the Canadians was known as the 'Pursuit to Mons'. It was during these final thirty-two days of the war that the Canadians engaged the retreating Germans over about seventy kilometres in a running series of battles at DenainDenain
It is the largest of 39 communes which comprise the association of communes of Porte du Hainaut, with a total population of 147,989, as of 1999. Denain had a population of 20,360, on a land area of 11.52 km² .-References:* -External links:...
and Valenciennes
Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...
in France and finally Mons
Mons
Mons is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, of which it is the capital. The Mons municipality includes the old communes of Cuesmes, Flénu, Ghlin, Hyon, Nimy, Obourg, Baudour , Jemappes, Ciply, Harmignies, Harveng, Havré, Maisières, Mesvin, Nouvelles,...
in Belgium where they pushed the Germans out of the town on November 10–11. Mons was, ironically, where the British had engaged the German armies for the first time in battle
Battle of Mons
The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British army attempted to hold the line of the...
in the Great War on August 23, 1914. As such, Mons is considered by some to be considered the place where the war both began and ended for the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
.
Some criticism was leveled at Canadian Corps commander Arthur Currie
Arthur Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...
by Sam Hughes
Sam Hughes
For other people of the same name see Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, KCB, PC was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I...
and others for needlessly wasting lives to capture Mons once it was known that the armistice was imminent. They claimed the soldiers who were killed and wounded in taking Mons were sacrificed for not a strategic, but a symbolic objective. The allegations even appeared in print in newspapers run by Hughes' family which led to Currie launching and winning a libel lawsuit against Hughes' son Garnet
Garnet Hughes
Major General Garnet Burk Hughes CB, DSO, was a Canadian military officer during the First World War. He was the son of Sir Sam Hughes, a Canadian politician and Minister of the Militia during the war...
and others after the war.
Legacy & memorials
Along with their participation in the battles at the Somme, Vimy RidgeBattle of Vimy Ridge
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...
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 le Quesnel Memorial
Le Quesnel Memorial
The Le Quesnel Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the 1918 Battle of Amiens during World War I...
, the battle at the Drocourt-Quéant Line is commemorated by the Dury Memorial
Dury Memorial
The Dury Memorial is a World War I Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Arras, particularly the their breakthrough at the Drocourt-Quéant Line switch of the Hindenburg Line just south of the town of Dury. The Drocourt-Quéant Line was a...
, and the crossing of the Canal du Nord, the Battle of Bourlon Wood and the Battle of Cambrai
Battle of Cambrai (1918)
The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918...
is paid tribute by the Bourlon Wood Memorial
Bourlon Wood Memorial
The Bourlon Wood Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred Days Offensive...
.
Additionally, the Canadian liberation of Mons is commemorated on a plaque that is on display in the entrance of the City Hall of Mons, just off of the Grand Place. The plaque reads:
See also
- List of Canadian battles during World War I
- Canadian CorpsCanadian CorpsThe Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 1915 and the 4th Canadian Division in August 1916...
- Hundred Days OffensiveHundred Days OffensiveThe Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of the First World War, during which the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the Western Front from 8 August to 11 November 1918, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. The offensive forced the German armies to retreat...
- Battle of Passchendaele
- Vimy Ridge
- Arthur CurrieArthur CurrieSir Arthur William Currie GCMG, KCB , was a Canadian general during World War I. He had the unique distinction of starting his military career on the very bottom rung as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the...