Prince William hails ‘spirit of co-operation’ that ended war
Duke of Cambridge leads tributes to the fallen at centenary service marking the Battle of Amiens
IT WAS at Amiens that the tide began to turn in the stalemate of the First World War.
In a surprise attack that had been weeks in the planning, a coalition of French, British, Canadian and Australian forces punched a hole in the German lines that would eventually lead to peace.
This turning point in the war was recalled by the Duke of Cambridge yesterday, at a service commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Amiens.
Speaking inside the vaulted Gothic cathedral that provided a symbolic landmark for the thousands of Allied troops who passed through the northern French city on their way to the front line, the Duke praised “the spirit of co-operation that had made victory possible”.
Proudly wearing his Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals, the Duke said the Battle of Amiens, and the continued fighting which followed during the summer and autumn of 1918, brought the Allies hope “after four long years of bloodshed and stalemate.”
Standing against a backdrop of flags from each of the nations that took part in the battle, including that of Germany, the Duke added: “Amiens was symbolic of the Entente Cordiale, the cooperation without which victory was impossible. It is entirely fitting therefore, that today, that same international coalition has returned to Amiens with our former enemy, in peace and partnership.”
Listening were 600 descendants of the young men on both sides who had lost their lives in the assault on the German lines.
Among them was Kevin Sherlock, a retired Rolls-royce engine inspector from Derby, whose 19-year-old great uncle, Ernest Harm, was killed towards the end of the four-day battle.
Mr Sherlock said the teenage soldier had made “the ultimate sacrifice”, helping to bring peace to Europe.
Harm, a Lance Corporal in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, 2nd Battalion, was killed, in all likelihood, by machine gunfire while going “over the top” on August 11, 1918.
“He was only 19, just a lad really, never experienced anything in his life,” said Mr Sherlock, 58. “So there’s sadness but also pride that he took part in a key battle that brought ultimately the Allied victory and no doubt about it, shortened the war as well.”
During the service of commemoration representatives of today’s Armed Forces read letters written by some of the men who took part in the battle, including one from a Private Southey of the Australian Regiment, who wrote: “We began to feel ‘By Jove, the war is coming to an end, we’re getting through’. We had a feeling of great uplift.” As children laid wreaths to those who fell decades before they were born others read tributes to the victims of the battle, in which 500 British tanks – almost its entire complement – were deployed, alongside 1,900 British and French aircraft, and more than 2,000 guns from the Royal Artillery.
Subterfuge and surprise were key factors. In the hours before the battle Canadian troops were still making their way silently to the front lines, the noise of tanks disguised by the sound of aircraft overhead.
Over the days that followed August 8, 1918, the gains made by Allied troops were huge, with many miles claimed from German forces.
On one day seven miles of enemy territory was captured, more than at any point in the war until then.
The impact on the German high command was just as significant, eventually convincing them that the war was lost and to sign the Armistice of November 11 that year.
The cost was great on both sides. More than 44,000 British Empire and French troops were killed and 75,000 German soldiers perished at Amiens.
The Prime Minister, who has been holidaying in Europe, read an extract
‘The battle brought the Allies hope after four long years of bloodshed and stalemate’
from the war memoirs of her predecessor David Lloyd George. In a message printed in the service’s official programme Theresa May also paid tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of those who took part in the battle.
She wrote: “We remember with profound respect all those who served on both sides of the battle and we give thanks for their courage, bravery and skill which would lead to what the world had long yearned for, the guns finally falling silent.”