100 Days to Victory – Series charting how the Allies won WWI. This episode examines the lead up to the ‘combined arms’ coordination of artillery, tanks, aircraft and infantry.
We meet the commanders and men in early 1918, at the moment of maximum jeopardy. The Germans have launched a mighty ‘shock and awe’ attack, advancing more than 60 kilometres in only three days. Standing in their path are British, Australian, Canadian and French forces, while the Americans are still arriving to join the fight.
100 Days to Victory – The Spring Offensive episode 1
The onslaught triggers a leadership crisis: Field Marshal Haig and Marshal Foch ask Australia’s General Monash and Canada’s General Currie to perfect a new way of waging war – one that will deliver ultimate victory. Monash and Currie conclude that the only way to victory is to effectively achieve the ‘combined arms’ coordination of artillery, tanks, aircraft and infantry – on a massive scale. It is the birth of modern warfare. By August, they are ready for what will become a major turning point in the war: the Battle of Amiens.
Battle of Amiens
The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy, was the opening phase of the Allied offensive which began on 8 August 1918, later known as the Hundred Days Offensive, that ultimately led to the end of the First World War. Allied forces advanced over 11 kilometres (7 mi) on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war, with Henry Rawlinson’s British Fourth Army playing the decisive role. The battle is also notable for its effects on both sides’ morale and the large number of surrendering German forces. This led Erich Ludendorff to describe the first day of the battle as “the black day of the German Army”. Amiens was one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare.
