Canada’s 100 Days
THE MARCH TO THE FIRST WORLD WAR’S END NOVEMBER 11, 1918
On August 8, 1918, Allied forces on the Western Front launched a major offensive against the German lines near the town of Amiens, France. The Battle of Amiens marked the beginning of Canada’s Hundred Days and the last three months of the First World War. Canada’s Hundred Days culminated with the end of the First World War and the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918. During this period a series of impressive Canadian Corps victories on the Western Front solidified their reputation as elite shock troops. Following the success of the Canadian Corps and their Allies in the Battle of Amiens, the Canadians were moved north back to Arras. Having little rest, they continued to pressure the German forces, breaking the Drocourt-Quéant Line on September 2, breaching the Hindenburg Line with the capture of Bourlon Wood on September 27, and then pressing on through Cambrai, Mount Houy, Valenciennes and into Mons, Belgium in Oc- tober and early November 1918. During the last three months of the First World War, the Canadian Corps advanced roughly 130 kilometres and took some 32,000 German prisoners and captured almost 3,800 enemy artillery pieces, machine guns and mortars. By the conclusion of Canada’s Hundred Days, 30 Canadians and Newfoundlanders had earned the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for valour they could receive. The armistice to end the First World War took effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. In 2018, the Government of Canada will mark the 65th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, the 10th anniversary of National Peacekeepers’ Day and the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Hundred Days and the Armistice—mile- stones on the road to peace and freedom we continue to walk today.