The Last Four Mon ths The E n d of the ‘ War i n the West B Y - RAL IR F MAUR CE MAJOR GEN E S . I K M G C B . C . li qfih 7100 fidans CA ELL AN D SS COMPANY , LT D o o N ew Y or L nd n , k , Toronto and Melbourne 1919 PREFACE W Ho wo n the war ' is a question that has been o n of oft en asked . In the c u tries all the great Allied Powers there have been found those who answered 1 t o ow on as o t their n satisfacti patri ts , because it is easy t o demonstrate that the war would n ot have ’ en won and w i wo n an of be , as hen t was , had y i f d those countr es ailed t o o what it actually achieved . o of o o M st us , h wever , are agreed that vict ry was the m n result of co bin ation , and I am convi ced that that opinion will grow stronger the better the story is n n n know . Duri g the struggle the ews we received of the doings of the armies of our Allies was n atur ally even more limited than was that of the doings of our own men an d n ot o o to , it was easy t all t each its place in the gene ral scheme . I n this book I have sought to give a picture of ’ Foch s great campaign and to sketch in due prop or o the n to o ti n parts which we t make up the wh le . The n o of the n o f o u r sple d ur achieveme ts army is , I n n n n o believe , e ha ced whe they are give their pr per m on place i n the fra e . I have reduced my descripti s of o m o the battles t the si plest terms , because my bject is to in o of and of expla the br ad causes success failure , and there is danger in entering into details of o pera Preface tions o n so vast a scale o f losing sight of the wood for A n o f the trees . s o st ry o a campaign can be o s n o nd c mplete unless it de cribes the i tenti ns , aims a of as the o feelings the enemy , at le t at m st critical o s e o o peri d , I hav c llected the best inf rmation avail able o n these points from captured do cuments or from o r . o publicati ns in Ge many F rtunately , there has in that country been co nsiderable public discussio n w n n L o f and r bet ee Hinde burg , udend r f their c itics as to the c onduct of the former during the period o and with which I am here chiefly c ncerned , material ’ n o n n n o f n n has t bee lacki g . Lude d r f s Remi isce ces have appeared while this book was in the press . I o o o on have thr ugh ut referred t the German editi , as at the time I write the English translation has not o w n t o n been published . I e grateful tha ks Captai n o for n n oo and C . T . Atki s n ki dly readi g the pr fs o n for many valuable suggesti s . F . MAURICE . LONDON , A u ust 19 19 . g , CON T E NT S CHAPTE R I PAGE WHAT WENT B EFORE — Unity of Comman d Th e Brit i sh R everses i n th e Spring CHAPTE R I I FO CH V ERS US LUD E NDORFF — Foc h on —t h e D efensiv e Break ing th e B arri er i n th e W est Th e R ival Met h o d s CHAPTE R I I I THE PREPARATION FOR ARMAG EDDON — ’ — Th e S ec on d B att l e of th e Marn e Haig s Offensive Th e e Americans at St . Mihi l C H A P T E R I V ARMAGEDDON — Th e H n enb ur L ne Th e Amer c an att le of th e Meu se i d —g i i B— Argonne Gou rau d i n Ch ampagne Haig Break s th e — ’ H n enb ur L ne Ki n Alb ert s vanc e nt o e um —i d g i g Ad i B lgi Th e R esult ozf Armagedd on CHAPTE R V LUD ENDORFF TRIES TO RALLY — Th e D el ays t o t h e Allied Advanc e Th e Diffi cult ies of — ’ — th e Ameri cans Lu d end orff s Pl an of R et reat H ow i t was D efeat ed CHAPTE R V I THE LAST PUSH Th e Ameri can Adv an ce t o S ed an- Gourau d R each es — Mez i eres Th e Brit ish ent er Maub eu ge an d Mon s — V Th e Con dit ion of th e German Army X as th e ‘ Armi st ice Premature 2 V ii MAPS I TH E W E S TE RN FR NT . O I I HE G M N D N Y M . T ER A EFE SIVE S ST E THE LAST FOUR MONTHS CHAPTER I WHAT WENT BEFORE — U nity of Commands The Bri tish Re v erses in th e Spring IN E urope 19 17 was a year of disapp ointment for f i on in ou r the arms o the All es ; ly Asia , where did o n on . earlier ventures had failed , f rtu e smile us ' At the beginn ing of that year Ludendorfi and Hindenburg brought off their first coup on the o w Western fr nt , when they ithdrew the German forces from the awkward p osition i n which they were of of o placed as the result the first battle the S mme , and n n n in n retired behi d the Hi de burg l e , which the o o first became fam us . By this man euvre they checked the plan s o f the Allies and brought about ’ the failure of General Nivelle s great offen sive upon i o Th of which such h gh h pes had been set . e re sult this failure had been t o throw a great strain upon the British army , which had to obtain for the n i o o I n Fre ch the t me t rec ver . the battle of Arras we had won the greatest succes s yet gain ed by i British arms in France , but Ha g had been forced B r The Last Four M on ths to o t t o n n c ntinue that bat le the stage whe , the e emy o e o o o having rec ver d fr m his first sh ck , pr gress was o I n n u sl w and lo sses were heavy . Ju e Pl mer had brilliantly cleared the Messin es Ridge and obliterated r n for n the Yp es salie t , which early three years had been a sore spot on o ur fro nt ; but the Fren ch still n and e n d of the on o eeded relief , at the July l g , sl w struggle which ended on the Passchendaele Ridge n n m h n n had begu . The , just at the ti e w e the Germa forces had been so weaken ed by that battle that there was goo d prospect of reaping at Cambrai the fruits ’ of m n o the year s ca paig , there had c me the surprise of o o o s of on Cap rett , the c llap e the Italian army on o o to the Is z , its retreat with very heavy l sses and of o om the Piave , the dispatch large f rces fr n Fran ce t o the help of our Ally . I this year the German s committed o ne of their cardin al blun ders i n o n n ~ o pr claimi g u limited U b at warfare , which added decisively t o the number of their foes ; but the con sequen ces t o themselves of that blunder were not d i on ou r o n imme iate , wh le we at ce saw sea c mmu i cation s e ndangered an d our p eople threatened with o ion n ot on I n o o very seri us privat if starvati . Mes p tamia Maude o vercame the Turkish army at Kut an d o t n oo o dr ve their bea e tr ps thr ugh Baghdad , ’ while Allenby e nded the year s campaigns with a triumph at Gaza and Beersheba and with the capture of Jerusalem . But history will certainly co unt the entrv of the United States of America into the war What Went Be fore and the Russian Revolution as the two outstan din g n of 19 1 two n i i eve ts 7 , the eve ts wh ch exerc sed the most far- reaching influen ce up on the course of the war .