The end of the war
Transcript of The end of the war
The End of the War
German Offensive of 1918
• Entire action took place between March 21 to April 5, 1918
• Germany used new tactics that relied on surprise
• The Germans would use a very short artillery barrage then sneak small groups of soldiers through to weak points in allied lines
• More heavily armed German soldiers would then move up to reinforce their new trenches
German Offensive of 1918
• Germany advanced an amazing 60 kilometres
• The front lines moved to less than 120 kilometres of Paris
• Heavy rail guns fired shells on Paris causing citizens to flee
End of the Offensive
• The Allies were able to hold the Germans back from making anymore significant gains
• From May to July 1918 the Allies were able to slowly take back much of the land the Germans had gained
• The offensive and the following counter by the Allies meant that the Germans did not have the manpower to mount anymore significant attacks
The One Hundred Days Offensive
• The Allies launched several offensives from August 8 to November 11, 1918
• The Battle of Amiens (Aug 8-10), and the Battle of the Somme (Aug 15-29) were two decisive victories for the Allies
• The Germans were forced to retreat to their heavily fortified Hindenburg line
Armistice
• Fighting continued until minutes before the armistice at 11:00am on Nov. 11
• The armistice was signed on a railway car in France