The Last Hundred Days

Day: 86 - The Battle of Valenciennes, November 1 to 2

Though the Germans still cling to the city of Valenciennes and hold firm their strong position near Marly, the day for them is a disaster. The Canadian Corps captures roughly 1,800 enemy soldiers and more than 800 enemy dead are counted in the battle area. Canadian losses number 80 killed and some 300 wounded.

Victoria Cross recipient:

• Sgt Hugh Cairns
  D.C.M., 46th Battalion^[10], 4th Canadian Infantry Division.

Cap badge of the 46th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Photo: Garth Chorney, Port Moody BC

Day: 87 - The Battle of Valenciennes

By nightfall, troops of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division secure the village of St. Saulvé, 1.5 kilometers up the Mons road, while troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division manage to draw even with the 4th, in the face of difficult German opposition.

The first Canadian platoon to enter Valenciennes from the west, advancing towards the Canal. Photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA-003377

Day: 88

By nightfall, patrols of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division push forward to the Estreux-Onnaing road, just less than five kilometers east of Valenciennes.

Austria, a German ally, signs an armistice and ends its involvement in the First World War.

Day: 89 - The Battle of the Sambre

In preparation for an attack on the German positions east of the Aunelle River, the 4th Canadian Infantry Division action is limited to repeated artillery barrages on this line.

To the north, units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division assault the mining town of Vicq, a strong point proving difficult to crack. They manage a footing, only to be driven off by incessant German machine-gun and artillery fire.

Day: 90 - Passage of the Grande Honnelle, November 5 to 7

In stiff fighting, units of the 4th Canadian Infantry Division take the village of Quarouble, but other units are halted by the German defence of a large heap of mine refuse (beside Fosse No. 2) west of the Aunelle River.

In the north, after Canadian and British gains in the south, units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division are able to enter the mining town of Vicq.

Day: 91 - Passage of the Grande Honnelle

By nightfall, the 4th Canadian Infantry Division controls both the Petite and Grande Honnelle rivers along its whole front. In the north, the village of Crespin is captured and crossings are established over the Aunelle and Honnelle rivers.

Day: 92 - Passage of the Grande Honnelle

Troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division occupy the villages of La Croix and Hensies, north of the main road. On the Canadian Corps' southern front, troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division advance roughly five kilometers to the village of Élouges.

Day: 93

Units of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division clear the villages of Thivencelle and St. Aybert. In the evening, troops of the Division cross the Canal de Condé under cover of darkness and gain a firm footing on the north bank. On the Canadian Corps' south front, troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division take the village of Dour.

Day: 94

The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry reaches the outlying suburb of Jemappes, which represents an advance of just more than eight kilometers.

By nightfall on the Canadian Corps south front, troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division reach a line which, from the village of Bougnies, 6.5 kilometers south of Mons, angles northwest to the boundary with the 3rd Division on the Frameries-Mons road.

Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor and Commander-in-Chief of the German armed forces, abdicates.

Day: 95

During the night, troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division occupy the village of Hyon, south-west of Mons. At about 11:00 p.m., Canadian platoons enter the city of Mons and begin clearing eastward while others cross the Canal de la Dérivation and move northwest into the town.

Day: 96

At 6:30 a.m., a message reaches Canadian Corps Headquarters that an armistice will be declared at 11:00 a.m.

The pursuit continues forward regardless, reaching a line some eight kilometers to the northeast of Mons.

The armistice to end the First World War takes effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

Canadians marching through the streets of Mons on the morning of 11 November 1918. Photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA-003547