How the Battle of Amiens changed warfare forever
Wednesday 8 August 2018 10:44, UK
By Ajay Nair, news reporter
The Duke of Cambridge and Theresa May will attend commemorations marking the centenary of the Battle of Amiens - a key Allied offensive which signalled the beginning of the end of the First World War.
The Allies' victory in northern France not only marked the start of the Hundred Days Offensive, it signalled a shift in how wars would be fought in the future, with it being one of the first major battles involving tanks - putting an end to trench warfare.
On the first day of the offensive, which involved 75,000 men, 2,000 artillery pieces, 1,900 planes and more than 500 tanks, Allied troops advanced eight miles (12.9km) and caused 27,000 casualties - of those, 12,000 were taken as prisoners.
The British Fourth Army, led by General Sir Henry Rawlinson, played an important part in the operation.
Eleven divisions - three British, four Canadian and four Australian - were brought together for the offensive, boasting tens of thousands more men than the Germans, whose defences consisted of just 37,000 soldiers.
The Germans had far less artillery and planes too - just 530 and 369 respectively - causing them to become overwhelmed at the start of the battle.
"It was the first time tanks were used in this way," First World War historian Dr Jonathan Boff told Sky News. "They now had a sort of mobile fire power support and it was helpful to the infantry.
"Until they used tanks, the only way of cutting barbwire was to shell it and that told the enemy where you were coming from. But now you didn't have to do that."
The success of the the first day was put down to the surprise of the attack and the sheer firepower of the infantry - as well as the large number of tanks involved.
"It brought a lot of surprise back to the battlefield and they played a part in ending the First World War," Dr Boff added.
Despite German resistance improving as the four-day battle continued, many in Germany's higher ranks now believed victory was not possible.
The Battle of Amiens, which followed failed German attacks in the spring of 1918 and an Allied counterattack at the Second Battle of Marne in July, marked a turning point as it ended German hopes for further attacks and convinced their high command the war needed to be ended.
Germany's General Erich Ludendorff described 8 August as a "black day" for the German army.
Dr Boff said: "Sometimes it was not just because of the physical impact but the morale impact it had on German soldiers."
He said it would have been a "big shock of the new" for soldiers at the time coming across the "huge machine beasts".
"The Germans saying it was the black day of the German army showed the battle really hammered it home and a lot of them knew they weren't going to win the war."