The Last 100 Days The “Final Push” of the Great War.
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Transcript of The Last 100 Days The “Final Push” of the Great War.
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The Last 100 Days
The “Final Push” of the Great War
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The Status of the War(January 1917)
Building Up to the Last 100 Days
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Submarine Warfare & USA Fights• Germany needed to cut
off the supplies going to Britain in order to halt their war effort.
• Germany used the submarine to destroy Allied supply ships and merchant vessels.
• Some neutral countries (including the USA) sold supplies and war materiel to Britain.
• To prevent this, in 1917 Germany declared “Unrestricted Submarine Warfare”, claiming the right to sink any ship supplying the Allies
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• After sinking a number of “neutral” targets, the Germans sunk the Lusitania a passenger liner with many Americans on board.
• This shocked the American public and the USA soon joined the Triple Entente against an already exhausted Germany
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Russia Bows Out- The war was going badly for Russia and the Tsar (Nicholas II) was extremely unpopular- A new philosophy called “Communism” was becoming popular.
•Communism:
– Gov’t ownership of all land and factories Elimination of “classes” (rich/poor),
– all were supposed to be equal – the forcible redistribution of private wealth
– Focus was on creating a “workers’ paradise” in which all would share equally in the wealth of the state
– Championed the plight of the “working classes” against the “greedy, rich parasites”
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• The Communists (led by Vladimir Lenin) called for a revolution to overthrow the Tsar and bring an end to the war
• In 1917, the Communists took control of Russia and executed the royal family.
• They signed a treaty with Germany to end the war, but Russia had to give up a large chunk of western territory in exchange for peace – Germany could now concentrate her forces on the Western Front
Vladimir Lenin
Tsar’s family (Romanov)
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The Status of the War (Jan.,1917)
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The German Offensive
• In February, 1918, Germany sent 178 divisions towards the Allied lines, focusing their might towards Paris
• Although they attacked the British and French troops, they avoided the areas where Canadians were stationed.
• Due to past experience, the Germans feared that fighting the tough Canadian troops would slow down their offensive and be too costly.
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• The initial German assault was extremely effective and the Allies (British and French) were pushed back, losing the ground they had previously won.
• The German offensive was finally stopped at the Marne River.
• The attack had come within 80KM of Paris.• With the Germans halted, the Allies decided it was
time to counter-attack!
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The “100 Days” BeginsCanada Leads the Way!
• On Aug. 8, 1918, Allied troops began an attack on German lines at Amiens.
• They included French, British and Australian soldiers, but Canadian troops led the assault.
• They did not start with an artillery barrage, so that the enemy would have no warning.
• Over 500 tanks were used in the initial assault and they quickly broke the German lines of defense.
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• In 3 days, the Allies pushed the Germans back an astounding 37KM, liberating 25 French towns.
• The Germans suffered 27,000 casualties and 15,000 Germans troops were captured.
• Canadian losses totaled 4000 dead.• The German lines were decisively broken and they
retreated in disarray
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They Just Kept Going!
• After Amiens, the Allies stayed on the offensive.
• With the addition of thousands of U.S. troops, they were able to mount a massive attack on the Somme.
• This pushed the Germans back another 55KM and cost them thousands of men.
• Canadian troops were once again “in the thick” of the battle
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Breaking the Hindenburg Line• The Hindenburg Line was a
series of defensive fortifications built by the Germans on conquered land after their initial attack and had been held since 1914.
• On Sept. 26, 1918, combined Allied forces, with Canadians playing a major role, began a final assault on the Line.
• Within hours, the line had been smashed and the Germans were once again retreating.
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The Pursuit
• German forces were now being pushed quickly back towards their own border.
• As Allied forces moved eastward towards Germany, they liberated the many French and Belgian towns that had been captured in 1914.
• Canadian troops were responsible for liberating much of Belgium in 1918.
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“The 11th of the 11th of the 11th”
• The German army was in retreat, but it was still fighting a rear-guard action. It was never truly routed by the Allied forces.
• The German High Command knew that time was short and that the enemy would soon cross their borders.
• In order to preserve their border and avoid invasion, the Germans began peace negotiations with the Allies.
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• The negotiations took place in the private railway car of the French commander.
• The German commanders knew that they had little to negotiate with and would most likely have to accept whatever terms the Allies offered.
• During the negotiations, the Kaiser (king of Germany) abdicated his thrown.
• Despite the harsh conditions imposed by the Allies, Germany signed the armistice on November 11, 1918 at 5:20AM.
• It was to take effect at 11:00AM that day.
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The Final Shot• News of the coming armistice
spread through the armies on both sides. The fighting would stop at exactly 11:00AM on November 11, 1918.
• However, in order to try and gain as best a post-war bargaining position as possible, each side kept fighting up until the last minute.
• At 10:58AM, Nov. 11, 1918, Private George Lawrence Price was killed by a German sniper.
• He was Canada’s final casualty of WWI