Hundred Days Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial German Army back, undoing its gains from the German spring offensive.
| Hundred Days Offensive | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Western Front of World War I | |||||||
Allied gains in late 1918 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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France United States Belgium Italy Portugal Siam |
German Empire Austria-Hungary | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Ferdinand Foch Philippe Pétain Paul Maistre Émile Fayolle Noël Castelnau Douglas Haig Henry Wilson John J. Pershing King Albert I |
Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Wilhelm Groener Max von Gallwitz Rupprecht of Bavaria Wilhelm of Prussia Max von Boehn Albrecht of Württemberg | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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Strength on 11 November 1918: c. 2,559,000 c. 1,900,000 c. 1,900,000 c. 190,000 |
Strength on 11 November 1918: c. 3,562,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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18 July – 11 November: 1,070,000 531,000 412,000 127,000 |
18 July – 11 November: 1,172,075 ~100,000+ killed 685,733 wounded 386,342 captured 6,700 artillery pieces Breakdown
2,500 killed 5,000 captured 10,000 wounded | ||||||
The Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line, but the Allies broke through the line with a series of victories, starting with the Battle of St Quentin Canal on 29 September. The offensive, together with a revolution breaking out in Germany, led to the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended the war with an Allied victory. The term "Hundred Days Offensive" does not refer to a battle or strategy, but rather the rapid series of Allied victories.