Beginning with the pivotal Battle of Amiens in August 1918, the 100 Days Offensive marked the final, decisive period of the First World War. Coordinated Allied forces launched a series of rapid, relentless counter-attacks that finally broke through the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line and systematically drove the exhausted German army into retreat across the Western Front.
Welsh divisions and Pioneer battalions were heavily involved in these aggressive advances across the Somme and Picardy sectors. While the offensive succeeded in bringing the war to an end by November, the cost was staggering, as attacking entrenched machine-gun positions and conducting open warfare resulted in massive casualties. ► Read more...
The physical toll of constant marching and daily combat was staggering. Pushing relentlessly across Picardy and back into the pulverized landscapes around Cambrai, the Allied forces faced fierce, determined rearguard resistance from German machine-gunners. During these final, victorious but incredibly costly months of continuous motion, Oakdale soldiers such as Private William Paulk and Private Jehoida Daniels laid down their lives just as the end of the conflict finally came into sight.