Battle of Amiens WW1: What was the famous 1918 battle? Who won it? Where did it take place? Everything you need to know

Everything you need to know about the legendary battle which led to the end of the first World War. 
British forces in Bapaume, France, building on the victory of the Battle of Amiens,
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Georgia Chambers8 August 2018

Today marks 100 years since the start of the Battle of Amiens, a fight which would spearhead the end of the First World War.

Here, we look back on where it took place and why it is such a poignant moment in our history.

What was the Battle of Amiens?

The Battle of Amiens would go on to spark the beginning of the "hundred days" that led to the collapse of the German army at the end of WW1.

Allied commanders decided to go on the offence and force the German army out of France.

Following the Second Battle of the Marne, the Allies launched an attack in August 1918 with a force of 75,000 men, more than 500 tanks and nearly 2,000 planes.

Allies refers to those countries who were allied in opposition to Central Powers (Germany, Austria and Turkey) during WW1.

There were 27,000 casualties and the gains that the Allies were making were enough to convince Germany that a win was practically impossible.

The battle ended three days afterwards, on August 11.

Where was the Battle of Amiens?

The battle took place in Amiens, a city in Northern France.

This was a vital location for the British and French armies because of the railway system linking the Allied rear areas to the north and south of Amiens on the Western Front.

Who won the Battle of Amiens?

Allied troops won a major victory over Germany, a success which is largely credited to the combined-arms assault strategy.

Germany was defeated, suffering it's worse loss since the start of the war.

Erich Ludendorff, a German general, described going into battle as: "the black day of the German Army in the history of this war . . . Everything I had feared, and of which I had so often given warning, had here, in one place, become a reality.”

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