Western Front
Front
(489)1918
January
March
- 26
- Germans take Albert, Chaulnes and RoyeOn 26 March 1918 the Germans took Roye and Chaulnes south of the Somme, and in the evening entered the ruins of Albert with its famous "Leaning Virgin".
- Key eventDoullens conferenceOn 26 March 1918, in the town hall at Doullens, the French and British entrusted General Foch with coordinating the Allied armies on the Western Front.
- 27
- Key eventFighting at RosièresOn 27 March 1918 six exhausted divisions of British XIX Corps held off an attack by eleven German divisions before Rosières, on the road to Amiens.
- Germans take MontdidierOn 27 March 1918 French corps at the junction with the British fell back, and the German 18th Army entered Montdidier, south of Amiens, without a fight.
- 28
- Key eventGerman attack at ArrasOn 28 March 1918 the Germans attacked at Arras in Operation Mars. The British defence held; in the evening Ludendorff called it off and turned to Amiens.
- Dismissal of GoughOn 28 March 1918 Gen. Hubert Gough handed the retreating Fifth Army to Gen. Henry Rawlinson. The government made him the scapegoat for defeat on the Somme.
April
- 11
- Germans take Armentières and MervilleOn 11 April 1918 the Germans entered Armentières, abandoned by the British, and broke into Merville that evening. The Lys front fell back towards Hazebrouck.
- The "Backs to the Wall" orderOn 11 April 1918 Douglas Haig issued an order of the day telling his troops to fight "with our backs to the wall" and hold every position to the last man.
- 12
- Key eventStart of the Battle of HazebrouckOn 12 April 1918 the German Sixth Army struck at Hazebrouck. It broke through at Pacaut and Doulieu, but the Guards and 5th Division held it at Nieppe Forest.
- Last airship raid with casualtiesOn the night of 12–13 April 1918 five German airships bombed central England, killing seven in Wigan. It was the last airship raid to cause casualties.
- 15
- Germans take BailleulOn 15 April 1918 the Germans took the Ravelsberg ridge east of Bailleul. That night the British left the town, which in later months was reduced to ruins.
- End of the Battle of HazebrouckOn 15 April 1918 the front before Hazebrouck settled at Nieppe Forest. Artillery broke up German attempts to attack the 5th Division and the Australians.
May
- 19
- Last air raid on LondonOn the night of 19 May 1918 over 40 German bombers attacked London, killing 49 people. The Germans lost seven machines. It was their last raid on England.
- Air raid on ÉtaplesOn the night of 19 May 1918 the Germans bombed the railway bridge at Étaples. Bombs hit hospitals and camps, killing 182 people, including a Canadian nurse.
- 27
- Key eventThird Battle of the Aisne beginsOn 27 May 1918, after a bombardment by over 1,000 batteries, the Germans took the Chemin des Dames, broke British IX Corps and crossed the Aisne to the Vesle.
- Germans retake CraonneAt dawn on 27 May 1918 the Germans took the Californie plateau and the ruins of Craonne, held by the British. The Allies had held the village since May 1917.
- 29
- Germans retake SoissonsOn 29 May 1918 the Germans took Soissons on the Aisne. Their troops had entered it the evening before but were pulled back. The occupation lasted until August.
- Germans take Fère-en-TardenoisOn 29 May 1918 the Germans took Fère-en-Tardenois, a railway junction and supply centre of the French Sixth Army. Clemenceau nearly fell into their hands there.
June
- 06
- End of the Third Battle of the AisneOn 6 June 1918 the British retook the hill at Bligny and the German Aisne offensive died down. The Germans stood on the Marne, but in a narrow, exposed salient.
- Americans attack at Belleau WoodOn 6 June 1918 US Marines took Hill 142 and Bouresches and broke into Belleau Wood. The brigade lost more than a thousand men that day.
July
- 20
- Germans withdraw back across the MarneOn the night of 19–20 July 1918 the Germans left their bridgehead south of the Marne, won on 15 July. In the morning the French found empty ground ahead.
- Last aeroplane raid on BritainOn 20 July 1918 a German aeroplane appeared briefly over Deal in Kent and dropped no bombs. It was the last German aeroplane flight over England in the war.
August
- 08
- Key eventBattle of Amiens beginsOn 8 August 1918, in fog, Canadians, Australians and tanks broke the front at Amiens, taking over 15,000 prisoners. Ludendorff called it the "black day".
- Key eventStart of the Battle of MontdidierOn 8 August 1918 Debeney's French First Army attacked alongside the British at Amiens. It took Moreuil and crossed the Avre, but did not reach Arvillers.
- 29
- New Zealanders retake BapaumeOn 29 August 1918 the Germans abandoned Bapaume by night after holding it against the Third Army for days. In the morning New Zealand patrols entered it.
- French retake NoyonOn 29 August 1918 Humbert's French Third Army retook Noyon, lost in March. That day the French ended the Second Battle of Noyon and the Third Battle of Picardy.
- 30
- Battle of the Scarpe (1918) endsOn 30 August 1918 the Canadians took the rest of the Fresnes–Rouvroy line at Vis-en-Artois. Horne and Currie put off the Drocourt–Quéant attack to 2 September.
- British retake BailleulOn 30 August 1918 British patrols entered Bailleul, abandoned by the Germans. The town, lost in April, lay in ruins. The Germans were retreating from the Lys.
- 31
- Germans abandon KemmelOn 31 August 1918 troops of the British Second Army occupied Mount Kemmel, taken by the Germans in April and now abandoned. Americans fought at its foot.
- Key eventSecond Battle of Bapaume beginsOn 31 August 1918 Australians attacked Mont Saint-Quentin above Péronne as the Third Army beat off counter-attacks beyond Bapaume. The battle began.
September
- 12
- Key eventStart of the Battle of Saint-MihielOn 12 September 1918 Pershing's American First Army attacked the German Saint-Mihiel salient. In the rain it got through the wire and advanced about 8 km.
- Key eventBattle of Havrincourt beginsOn 12 September 1918 Byng's Third Army took Havrincourt and Trescault in front of the Hindenburg Line, while New Zealanders fought the elite Jäger Division.
- 16
- End of the Battle of Saint-MihielOn 16 September 1918 the Battle of Saint-Mihiel ended. The Americans dug in on the Haudiomont–Vandières line as their divisions left for the Meuse and Argonne.
- Last air raid on ParisOn the night of 15/16 September 1918 German bombers attacked Paris for the last time. Bombs fell on the northern and eastern districts and the suburbs.
- 29
- Key eventBattle of the St Quentin Canal beginsOn 29 September 1918 the British 46th Division crossed the St Quentin Canal in fog, while Americans and Australians stormed the Hindenburg Line at Bellicourt.
- Allies retake PasschendaeleOn 29 September 1918 the Belgians consolidated on the retaken Passchendaele ridge, took Moorslede and recovered Diksmuide, lost in November 1914.
October
- 01
- End of the Battle of the Canal du NordOn 1 October 1918 the Canadians attacked north of Cambrai for the last time. They gained 1.5 km and a hill above the city, after which Horne halted the advance.
- French retake Saint-QuentinOn 1 October 1918 Debeney's French First Army entered Saint-Quentin, abandoned by the Germans. The town, evacuated in 1917, lay in ruins.
- 02
- End of the Fifth Battle of YpresOn 2 October 1918 Belgian, French and British attacks in Flanders failed. In the evening Plumer ordered the Second Army to dig in and wait for artillery.
- End of the Battle of the St Quentin CanalOn 1–2 October 1918 the British Fourth Army took Joncourt and the rest of the Hindenburg Line at Bony and broke into the Beaurevoir Line, but lost Sequehart.
- 03
- Key eventStart of the battle of the Beaurevoir LineOn 3 October 1918 the British and Australians broke the Beaurevoir Line, the Hindenburg Line's last position. Montbrehain fell, but the Germans retook it.
- The British retake Armentières againIn early October 1918 the Germans abandoned Armentières, taken in April on the Lys. The British returned to a town that had been reduced to ruins.
- British take LensOn 3 October 1918 the British entered Lens, abandoned by the Germans. After four years of occupation the mining town was a field of rubble.
- Lost Battalion surrounded in the ArgonneOn 3 October 1918 Germans trapped Major Whittlesey's force of the 77th Division in the Argonne's Charlevaux ravine. The press called it the "Lost Battalion".
- 14
- Key eventBattle of Kortrijk beginsOn 14 October 1918 the Belgians, British and French attacked again in Flanders. They broke through the last German position and retook Roeselare.
- French take Craonne once moreOn 14 October 1918, French sources say, the French 320th Infantry Regiment freed the ruins of Craonne. The Germans gave up the Chemin des Dames unopposed.
- 15
- End of the Battle of Champagne and ArgonneOn 15 October 1918 the Battle of Champagne and Argonne ended by the French naming. Gouraud's Fourth Army reached the Aisne, while the Americans fought on.
- Allies take MenenOn 15 October 1918 the British entered Menen on the Lys, abandoned by the Germans, and at Comines crossed the river to its southern bank.
- 17
- Allies retake Lille and OstendOn 17 October 1918 the Germans gave up Ostend, Douai and Lille unopposed. After four years the Belgian port and the largest city of northern France were free.
- Key eventStart of the Battle of the SelleOn 17 October 1918 the British Fourth Army, with two American divisions, forced the Selle in fog and by evening had retaken Le Cateau.
November
- 04
- Key eventBattle of the Sambre beginsOn 4 November 1918 the British crossed the Sambre–Oise Canal and Mormal Forest in fog, and the New Zealanders took Le Quesnoy. Wilfred Owen fell at Ors.
- Death of Wilfred OwenOn 4 November 1918, a week before the Armistice, Wilfred Owen, 25, one of the greatest English poets of the war, was killed crossing the canal at Ors.
- 06
- The French take RethelOn 6 November 1918 the French entered ruined Rethel on the Aisne. The Germans, threatened along the whole front, were already falling back to the Meuse.
- Americans at SedanOn 6–7 November 1918, racing for Sedan, the Americans reached the heights above the town and cut the German railway. But Foch sent the French into Sedan.
- 08
- German envoys before FochOn 8 November 1918 Erzberger's delegation stood before Foch in the Forest of Compiègne. It heard the armistice terms and was given 72 hours to reply.
- British retake MaubeugeOn the night of 8/9 November 1918 a Grenadier Guards battalion entered Maubeuge unopposed, the Sambre fortress the French had surrendered in September 1914.
- 10
- French retake MézièresOn the eve of the armistice the French recovered Mézières on the Meuse, long a key German command centre. Fighting on the river went on until 11 November.
- Belgians retake GhentOn 10 November 1918 the Germans left Ghent and the Belgians entered the city. The occupation of the capital of East Flanders, in place since 1914, was over.
- 18
- Germans leave FranceAccording to the British chronology, on 18 November 1918 the last Germans crossed back over France's 1914 border. The occupation of the north-east was over.
- Belgians return to BrusselsIn mid-November 1918 the last Germans left Brussels, Burgomaster Max returned, and Belgian soldiers entered the capital. The occupation was ending.
- 19
- The French enter MetzOn 19 November 1918 troops of the Tenth Army entered Metz, capital of German Lorraine. The parade was watched by Pétain, who learned of his promotion that day.
- Belgians return to AntwerpOn 19 November 1918 Belgian troops reoccupied Antwerp. The fortress, which had capitulated in October 1914, returned to Belgium after more than four years.
- Pétain becomes Marshal of FranceOn 19 November 1918, the day the French entered Metz, General Pétain learned he would be made a Marshal of France. The decree was signed on 21 November.