Amiens Offensive: The Hundred Days Begin WWI's End

German General Erich Ludendorff called it "the black day of the German army." On August 8, 1918, a combined British, Australian, Canadian, and French force launched a surprise attack near Amiens that shattered the German front line and began the Hundred Days Offensive — the relentless Allied advance that would end World War I. By nightfall, the attackers had pushed forward eight miles on some sectors, the largest single-day territorial gain on the Western Front since trench warfare had begun in 1914. The assault succeeded through a combination of deception, combined arms, and collapsing German morale. Allied commanders, particularly Australian General John Monash and Canadian General Arthur Currie, employed tactics that foreshadowed modern warfare: creeping artillery barrages, infantry advancing closely behind tanks, and aircraft providing close air support and dropping ammunition to forward units. More than 500 tanks participated, the largest armored deployment of the war. The surprise was total. German intelligence had no warning of the attack's location or timing. Dense morning fog concealed the advancing troops and tanks until they were nearly on top of the German trenches. Entire German divisions surrendered or collapsed. By the end of the first day, the Allies had captured over 12,000 prisoners and 350 guns. Ludendorff noted with alarm that units had shouted "blackleg" and "war prolonger" at reserves moving up to the front, a sign that German soldiers' will to fight was breaking. The battle itself lasted until August 12, but its strategic impact was immediate. Ludendorff informed the Kaiser that the war could no longer be won militarily and recommended opening peace negotiations. The Hundred Days Offensive continued through September and October with a series of hammer blows along the entire Western Front, driving the German army back toward its own borders. The Armistice came on November 11. Amiens was the battle that broke the deadlock of four years of trench warfare and ended the war.