100 Years Ago: The Hundred Days Offensive
Intro Copy
In the waning months of the 100th anniversary of World war I, it would be a good idea to have students do some independent research on this global event that had massive implications for world history. And there is no better time than August to begin such a project because this month is the anniversary of the so-called Hundred Days Offensive that led to the end of the Great War. The Allied offensive began on August 8, 1918 with the Battle of Amiens. The strategy, developed by British Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, was not intended to win the war but to push the Germans out of France. By the end of the first day of fighting at Amiens, France, the Germans suffered 30,000 casualties and had 17,000 soldiers taken prisoner. German general Erich Ludendorff called it the “Black Day of the German Army.” The victory at Amiens pushed the Germans back toward the Hindenburg Line and away from Paris. The subsequent battles, including the Second Battle of the Somme and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, left Germany with little choice but to seek an armistice. In just the last few months of the war, the Allies and the Central Powers lost a combined two million men on the Western Front. Other than the many resources in eLibrary, if you would like to dig deeper into this topic, I highly recommend the book Hundred Days: The Campaign that Ended World War I by Nick Lloyd. Here are a few reviews of this book that can be found in eLibrary: How the War Ended: WWI's Last Hundred Days The Daily Beast (Newspaper) Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I Military History (Magazine) World War I in the Final Analysis Army (Magazine) If you are in the beginning stages of conducting research for a paper, or if you are a teacher or a librarian seeking to point students in the right direction for such a project, eLibrary is a great place to start. Searching Tip: When conducting research in eLibrary, you might find better, faster results if you use Field Codes, such as TI for document title. In the search bar, just type in TI followed by parentheses containing the topic you wish to search. Remember….no spaces after the Field Code. Below is just one sample search for the Hundred Days Offensive: