One of the British armies greatest achievements and not yet 500 views. The storming of the Hindenburg line and the taking of this bridge should be remembered along with D-Day and Waterloo. Well done the WFA for renewing the plaque and posting this video.
swimmad456 John Terraine: ‘The toughest assignment in modern British military history (i.e. since the creation of our first real Regular Army, the New Model) has been high command in war against the main body of a main continental enemy. Three British officers have undertaken such a task and brought it to a successful conclusion: the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Wellington and Field-Marshal Lord Haig. And in that Final Offensive, which ended with a German delegation crossing the lines with a white flag to ask for an armistice, the British Armies under Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig captured 188,700 prisoners and 2840 guns. All the other Allies together, French, Americans, Belgians, captured 196,500 prisoners and 3775 guns. In other words, the British took just under 50% of all the prisoners and just over 40% of all the guns. That was the achievement of the British Citizen Army; I have called it, more than once, the 'finest hour' of the British Army. There has never been anything like that '100 Days' Campaign' of continuous victory in the whole of our military history. In the words of one who served from 1916 to 1918 and died only recently, Professor C. E. Carrington: In our thousand years of national history there has been one short period (1916-1918) when Britain possessed the most effective army in the world, and used it to win decisive victory. The most sinister of all the delusions within the trauma was to lose sight of that. What was the position of Haig's army on that day? It amounted to nearly two million men of the British Empire - the largest land force in the Empire's history. And they had just reached the end of a 'Hundred Days' Campaign' as glorious and decisive as that of 1815 which concluded the Battle of Waterloo - but infinitely less known. It was, in fact an unparalleled achievement in the history of the British Army, revealed by the stark statistics. And this was done in nine successive victories which were largely instrumental in bringing the war to an end in 1918 - and a consummation that Haig was determined to bring about. These victories should be as famous as Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet or Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria and Waterloo. Instead, they are forgotten and unknown, so I will list them now: The Battle of Amiens, 8 August 1918 ('the black day of the German Army'); The Battle of Albert, 21 August (the day on which Haig told Churchill 'we ought to do our utmost to get a decision this autumn'); The Battle of the Scarpe, 26 August; The Battles of Havrincourt and Epehy, 12 September (the approaches to the HindenburgLine); The Breaking of the Hindenburg Line, 27 September - 5 October (35,000 prisoners & 380 guns taken, the British Army's greatest feat of arms in all its history); The Battle of Flanders, 28 September; The Second Battle of Le Cateau, 6 October; The Battle of the Selle, 17 October; The Battle of the Sambre, 1-11 November. These were Haig's victories, handsomely acknowledged by Marshal Foch: Never at any time in history has the British Army achieved greater results in attack than in this unbroken offensive .... The victory was indeed complete, thanks to the Commanders of Armies, Corps and Divisions, thanks above all to the unselfishness, to the wise, loyal and energetic policy of their Commander-in-Chief, who made easy a great combination and sanctioned a prolonged and gigantic effort.’ In 1918, the British Army was the only Allied army capable of mounting a massive and sustained offensive.
@@giovannipierre5309Just read your missive re John Terraine. It is a tour de force of clarity and detail of what the Last Hundred Days was all about. Too much is said about how it was Australians who did it judging by the antipodean comments. John Terraine was and is the Doyen of WW1 historians. I had the pleasure of hearing him lecture and also meeting him in person. Well done.
My great grandfather served in the 1/6th North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales) Regiment, which formed part of the 137th Brigade, which spearheaded the taking of the Riqueval Bridge. He is somewhere in the famous photograph, in which the whole regiment clung on to the canal bank side whilst being addressed by the Brigadier General. He never once spoke about his experiences.
Very inconspicuous site now, but so important in the history of the world. October 2019 we were at the Riqueval bridge, I get cold chills when I think of it.
Between July 18 and the end of the war, the French, American and Belgian armies combined captured 196,700 prisoners-of-war and 3,775 guns, while British forces, with a smaller army than the French, engaged the main mass of the German Army and captured 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns. Let me repeat that: the French, American and Belgian armies combined captured 196,700 prisoners-of-war and 3,775 guns, while British forces captured 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns. British forces captured only 8,000 fewer prisoners and 935 less guns than the other allies combined In other words the British Army took just under 50% of the prisoners and just over 40% of the guns.
Erm, you’re including the Australian Army in the British to get your figures, and given how much the British and Americans came under Australian command in the offensive you’re drawing a very long bow.
@@seanlander9321most of the Australians WERE under British command at that time. Remember Australia had only 3/400,000 troops, the British was 2million strong. Don’t over represent Australias role.
One of the British armies greatest achievements and not yet 500 views. The storming of the Hindenburg line and the taking of this bridge should be remembered along with D-Day and Waterloo. Well done the WFA for renewing the plaque and posting this video.
swimmad456
John Terraine:
‘The toughest assignment in modern British military history (i.e. since the creation of our first real Regular Army, the New Model) has been high command in war against the main body of a main continental enemy. Three British officers have undertaken such a task and brought it to a successful conclusion: the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Wellington and Field-Marshal Lord Haig.
And in that Final Offensive, which ended with a German delegation crossing the lines with a white flag to ask for an armistice, the British Armies under Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig captured 188,700 prisoners and 2840 guns. All the other Allies together, French, Americans, Belgians, captured 196,500 prisoners and 3775 guns. In other words, the British took just under 50% of all the prisoners and just over 40% of all the guns.
That was the achievement of the British Citizen Army; I have called it, more than once, the 'finest hour' of the British Army. There has never been anything like that '100 Days' Campaign' of continuous victory in the whole of our military history. In the words of one who served from 1916 to 1918 and died only recently, Professor C. E. Carrington:
In our thousand years of national history there has been one short period (1916-1918) when Britain possessed the most effective army in the world, and used it to win decisive victory.
The most sinister of all the delusions within the trauma was to lose sight of that.
What was the position of Haig's army on that day? It amounted to nearly two million men of the British Empire - the largest land force in the Empire's history. And they had just reached the end of a 'Hundred Days' Campaign' as glorious and decisive as that of 1815 which concluded the Battle of Waterloo - but infinitely less known.
It was, in fact an unparalleled achievement in the history of the British Army, revealed by the stark statistics. And this was done in nine successive victories which were largely instrumental in bringing the war to an end in 1918 - and a consummation that Haig was determined to bring about.
These victories should be as famous as Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet or Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria and Waterloo. Instead, they are forgotten and unknown, so I will list them now:
The Battle of Amiens, 8 August 1918 ('the black day of the German Army');
The Battle of Albert, 21 August (the day on which Haig told Churchill 'we ought to do our utmost to get a decision this autumn');
The Battle of the Scarpe, 26 August;
The Battles of Havrincourt and Epehy, 12 September (the approaches to the HindenburgLine);
The Breaking of the Hindenburg Line, 27 September - 5 October (35,000 prisoners & 380 guns taken, the British Army's greatest feat of arms in all its history);
The Battle of Flanders, 28 September;
The Second Battle of Le Cateau, 6 October;
The Battle of the Selle, 17 October;
The Battle of the Sambre, 1-11 November.
These were Haig's victories, handsomely acknowledged by Marshal Foch:
Never at any time in history has the British Army achieved greater results in attack than in this unbroken offensive .... The victory was indeed complete, thanks to the Commanders of Armies, Corps and Divisions, thanks above all to the unselfishness, to the wise, loyal and energetic policy of their Commander-in-Chief, who made easy a great combination and sanctioned a prolonged and gigantic effort.’
In 1918, the British Army was the only Allied army capable of mounting a massive and sustained offensive.
@@giovannipierre5309Just read your missive re John Terraine. It is a tour de force of clarity and detail of what the Last Hundred Days was all about. Too much is said about how it was Australians who did it judging by the antipodean comments. John Terraine was and is the Doyen of WW1 historians. I had the pleasure of hearing him lecture and also meeting him in person. Well done.
My great grandfather served in the 1/6th North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales) Regiment, which formed part of the 137th Brigade, which spearheaded the taking of the Riqueval Bridge. He is somewhere in the famous photograph, in which the whole regiment clung on to the canal bank side whilst being addressed by the Brigadier General. He never once spoke about his experiences.
One of The best photos of WW1
Very inconspicuous site now, but so important in the history of the world. October 2019 we were at the Riqueval bridge, I get cold chills when I think of it.
Between July 18 and the end of the war, the French, American and Belgian armies combined captured 196,700 prisoners-of-war and 3,775 guns, while British forces, with a smaller army than the French, engaged the main mass of the German Army and captured 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns.
Let me repeat that: the French, American and Belgian armies combined captured 196,700 prisoners-of-war and 3,775 guns, while British forces captured 188,700 prisoners and 2,840 guns.
British forces captured only 8,000 fewer prisoners and 935 less guns than the other allies combined
In other words the British Army took just under 50% of the prisoners and just over 40% of the guns.
Erm, you’re including the Australian Army in the British to get your figures, and given how much the British and Americans came under Australian command in the offensive you’re drawing a very long bow.
@@seanlander9321most of the Australians WERE under British command at that time. Remember Australia had only 3/400,000 troops, the British was 2million strong. Don’t over represent Australias role.