100 Year Anniversary of the Battle of Amiens

The 8th August 1918 at 0420hrs saw the start of the Allied 100-day offensive that would end trench warfare and subsequently WW1. It was also the first time the Allied forces used a combined arms approach to warfare by incorporating the use of infantry, artillery, tanks and air power.

In commemoration of the battle, D (Cambridgeshire) Company of 1 Royal Anglian represented the British Army by providing the Guard of Honour and parading alongside representatives from France, Canada and Australia.

The history

The Battle of Amiens was arguably the battle that won the First World War. Between 8 – 11 August 1918, during one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare, the Allies advanced eight miles to seize the initiative on the Western Front in a major British/French/ Canadian/Australian offensive. 75,000 men, 500 tanks and nearly 2,000 planes resulted in 27,000 casualties, including 12,000 prisoners.

The initiative on the Western Front passed to the Allies, who never relinquished it. It marked the end of trench warfare, and was the beginning of the ‘Hundred Days’ of Allied victories, leading to the German capitulation on 11 November 1918.

The Duke of Cambridge, the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Defence, Gavin Williamson, Lord Ashton, the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter attended the commemoration at Amiens Cathedral, where Prince William and Theresa May gave readings at the service, and laid wreaths to remember the fallen.