The Last Hundred Days

Day: 1 - The Battle of Amiens, Opening Day

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By day's end, the Canadian Corps^[1] advances as much as 12 kilometers, and is credited with capturing more than 5,000 German prisoners and 161 guns.

General Ludendorff of the German army, writes that "August 8th was the black day of the German Army in the history of this war."

Victoria Cross recipients:

• Cpl H. G. B. Miner
  58th Battalion, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
• Pte J. B. Croak
  13th Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division
• Cpl H. J. Good
  13th Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division
• Lt J. E. Tait, M.C.
  78th Battalion, 4th Canadian Infantry Division

^[1] By this time, the Canadian Corps was made up of four divisions.

Statement of Service for John Bernard Croak, recipient of the Victoria Cross for his actions on 8 August 1918, the opening day of the Battle of Amiens.

Day: 2 - The Battle of Amiens

The Canadian Corps advances 6.5 kilometers, while suffering 2,574 casualties^[2], about two-thirds of the previous day's total.

Victoria Cross recipients:

• Lt Jean Brillant
  M.C., 22nd Battalion, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division
• Sgt R. L. Zengel
  M.M., 5th Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division
• Cpl F. G. Coppins
  8th Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division
• LCpl Alexander Brereton
  8th Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division

^[2] Casualties are soldiers killed, injured or missing in action.

Cap badge of the 22nd Battalion (French Canadian), which later became the Royal 22^e Régiment.

Day: 3 - The Battle of Amiens

In taking the village of Hallu, troops of the Canadian Corps advance furthest east than any formation of the British Fourth Army, under whom the Canadian Corps is fighting.

A Canadian armoured car going into action. Battle of Amiens. August 1918. Photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA-003015

Day: 4 - Official end of the Battle of Amiens

During the previous night and in the morning, troops of the Canadian Corps beat off three German counterattacks on Hallu, but as no further advance is planned, and being in an exposed position, they withdraw to a consolidated line.

Day: 5

During the 12th, 13th and 14th, the troops of the Canadian Corps are engaged in clearing the maze of enemy trenches between the villages of Fouquescourt and Parvillers.

Victoria Cross recipient:

• Pte Thomas Dinesen
  42nd Battalion, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

Day: 6

In patrol encounters and local trench fighting, troops of the Canadian Corps slowly push forward to close in on the village of Parvillers.

Victoria Cross recipient:

• Sgt Robert Spall
  Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

Day: 7

Troops of the Canadian Corps gain entry into Parvillers, but cannot occupy the village due to a violent German counterattack.

Day: 8 - Actions around Damery

Parvillers is finally secured and held against counterattack by troops of the Canadian Corps. Other troops enter Damery, which, against shelling and counterattack, they are able to hold, taking some 200 prisoners.

Day: 9 - Actions around Damery

Troops of the Canadian Corps occupy the village of Fransart, between Fouquescourt and Hattencourt. Three attempts by other Canadian troops to get into La Chavatte fail, in spite of substantial artillery support, nor can strong patrols penetrate Fresnoy-les-Roye.

Day: 10 - Actions around Damery

By morning, patrols of the Canadian Corps clear troublesome trenches north of La Chavatte and troops are able to secure the village. Attempts to reach Fresnoy are abandoned.

Day: 11

The French 10th Army, under Général Mangin, advances between the Oise and the Aisne rivers, and capture the village of Morsain, in the Ru d'Hozier Valley.

Day: 12

Troops of the Canadian Corps improve their position in a minor operation north of Chilly, and in the afternoon, they win back some of the ground it had lost earlier east of the Chilly-Lihons road. They hold it against four German counterattacks during the night.

Major McGill and assistants, 5th Canadian Field Ambulance, dressing wounded outdoors, Battle of Amiens. Photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA-002890

Day: 13

By the 20th, the Canadian Corps had penetrated up to 22.5 kilometers, on a front which had widened from seven to more than nine kilometers, and had liberated 27 villages. The Corps had captured more than 9,000 prisoners, nearly 200 guns of various calibres, and more than one thousand machine-guns and trench mortars. Casualties during the period of 8 to 20 August numbered 11,822.

Day: 14

Troops of the British Third Army capture the villages of Beaucourt, Aichet-le-Petit and Courcelles. Troops of the French Third Army capture the village of Lassigny.

Day: 15

General Arthur Currie, Commander of the Canadian Corps, outlines his plans for an attack east, on either side of the Arras-Cambrai road, to his divisional commanders. This would be known as the Battle of the Scarpe.

Day: 16

In a daylight raid, troops of the Canadian Corps capture a sugar factory south of Neuville-Vitasse, and gain partial control of the town the following evening.

Day: 17

Troops of the British army storm Thiépval Ridge, a heavily defended German strong point.

Day: 18

Troops of the British army capture the villages of Mametz, Martinpuich and Le Sars.

Day: 19 - The Battle of the Scarpe, Opening Day

Troops of the Canadian Corps advance as much as 5.5 kilometers and capture the towns of Monchy-le-Preux and Wancourt.

Victoria Cross recipient:

• Lt C. S. Rutherford
  M.C., M.M., 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

Day: 20 - The Battle of the Scarpe

Heavy rains during the night make for slippery ground, difficulties in assembling troops and late starts. Combined with stiff resistance by the Germans and their heavily defended positions, the advance gains at most 3.2 kilometers.

Canadian troops advancing through a German barrage east of Arras. Photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA-003145

Day: 21 - The Battle of the Scarpe

In three days of intense fighting, the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions^[3] reported their total casualties as 254 officers and 5,547 other ranks. They captured more than 3,300 prisoners, 53 guns and 519 machine guns, and had seized an important portion of the Germans strong Fresnes-Rouvroy defence system.

Victoria Cross recipient:

• LCol W. H. Clark-Kennedy
  24th Battalion, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division

Day: 22 - The Battle of the Scarpe

In the northern sector, Brutinel's Brigade^[4], under the orders of the British army, advance the line roughly one kilometer by seizing Bench Farm and Victoria Copse, with the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion establishing posts right up to the Scarpe River.

Day: 23 - The Battle of the Scarpe, Official End

Troops of the Canadian Corps clear portions of the Fresnes-Rouvroy trench system in their sector, including Upton Wood. After holding all day under heavy fire, they drive off a German counterattack, capturing 50 prisoners and five machine guns.

Day: 24

In a surprise dawn attack, troops of the Canadian Corps seize the Ocean Work, a strong point in the German trenches south of Haucourt which had held out the previous day.