Amiens 1918

It was the remarkable success that opened the doors to victory on the Western Front.

For the Allies in the First World War, success at the Battle of Amiens demonstrated that their superior tactics and equipment and greater material strength could win the war. Its impact on the morale of their German opponents was profound, utterly destroying the last illusions they may have had about the war’s outcome. It was the German army’s ‘Black Day’.

On 8 August 1918, British and Imperial forces, in co-operation with the French, launched a major attack against the Germans astride the River Somme, east of the city of Amiens.

The stunning achievement on the first day of this battle was the beginning of the period known as the ‘Hundred Days’ (8 August – 11 November 1918), in which the battlefield successes of the armies of Britain, France, the United States and their allies finally forced Germany to sue for an armistice. This eventually led to the end of the war.

Victory in the battle was achieved by a coalition of forces from several nations. Most prominent in the British Fourth Army’s attack were the Australian and Canadian Corps.

Perhaps the most famous image associated with the Battle of Amiens is this photograph, taken on 27 August 1918 at Abbeville, well behind the front lines. It shows German prisoners captured during British offensive operations throughout the month.

British armoured cars (depicted here in 1918) were very important during the battle of Amiens. They exploited initial successes beyond the shell-torn battle zone.

In this image, taken at 6:30 a.m on 8 August 1918., the first German wounded from Hangard Wood are brought in.

The Fourth Army succeeded in advancing over 8 miles in a single day on their main front while the French forces on their southern flank gained 5 miles.

For their German opponents, it represented the beginning of the end of a war that had already lasted four years. The battle was a complete surprise.

Deception to mislead the Germans and disguise the fact that an attack was being planned was very important.

The success represented a major propaganda opportunity for the British and French and IWM’s collection holds film and photographs made precisely for this purpose.

In this image, soldiers of the 8th Battalion, London Regiment (Post Office Rifles, 58th Division) examine a German-captured machine gun near Malard Wood on 8 August 1918.

Despite the initial success in the battle, there was much more hard fighting - with tremendous casualties on all sides in the final months before the war was won.

Indeed, many of the technological innovations that led to success on 8 August 1918 were precisely the reason why casualties on the Western Front were so high.

Victory would be secured, but at an appalling cost.