Second Battle of Arras (26 August to 3 September 1918)

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Second Battle of Arras (26 August to 3 September 1918) "One of the war's greatest triumphs" - Lt.-Gen. Sir Arthur Currie By succeeding in destroying the very heart of the German defence system, the Canadian Corps, advancing with the British First Army under Horne, enabled the British Third Army under Byng, to make contact with the outposts of the formidable Hindenberg Line. The battle itself was another of Currie's complex set-pieces, that of the Battle of the Scarpe and the Battle of the Drocourt-Quéant Line, both part of the overall Allied strategy which consisted of exhausting the enemy already retreating eastward. The Battle of the Scarpe resulted in an Allied advance of no less than eight kilometres, while at Drocourt-Quéant, Canadian troops forced the Germans out of their vital defence system, advancing another six kilometres and taking up positions in front of their next obstacle, the Canal-du-Nord. Following the battle, former Canadian Corps commander Julian Byng cabled Currie informing him the Canadian Corps' smashing of the Drocourt-Queant line was the 'turning point of the campaign.' German chief strategist Erich Ludendorff, knew otherwise - it was the kick-off of the Last Hundred Days Offensive on 8 August 1918, which culminated in the final collapse of the German Empire that caused him to declare the Battle of Amiens was 'the black day of the German army.'