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1916-1925: America– War and Peace
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General SummaryThe British Commander-in-Chief made this personal appeal to his troops on April 11, 1918, at the most critical moment in the second stage of the Kaiserbattle, fought in the Lys Valley, just south of Ypres. For the Allies it was perhaps the darkest hour of the war. \n As General Haig says, three weeks previously the Germans had begun their colossal attack that crumpled the British Fifth Army by the weight of sixty-four divisions against nineteen. His appeal was not in vain. The British line stiffened. Foch sent a French army to their aid, and eventually the German advance was checked. \n Small forces of Americans took part in this battle and so acquitted themselves as to merit special mention in the official dispatches of Sir Douglas Haig. \n Buchan, the historian, says of this battle, "It all but destroyed the British army; but it saved the Allies’ front, and in the long run gave them the victory." The Americans were coming.
Britain’s Back to the Wall
THREE weeks ago to the enemy began his terrific attacks against us on a fifty-mile front. His objects are to separate us from the French, to take the Channel ports, and to destroy the British army.
In spite of throwing already 106 divisions into the battle, and enduring the most reckless sacrifice of human life, he has yet made little progress toward his goals.
We owe this to the determined fighting and self-sacrifice of our troops. Words fail me to express the admiration which I feel for the splendid resistance offered by all ranks of our army under the most trying circumstances.
Many among us now are tired. To those I will say that victory will belong to the side which holds out the longest. The French army is moving rapidly and in great force to our support. There is no other course open to us but to fight it out.
Every position must be held to the last man. There must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us might fight to the end. The safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind depend alike upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment.
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Chicago:
Douglas Haig, "Britain’s Back to the Wall," 1916-1925: America– War and Peace in America, Vol.12, Pp.76-77 Original Sources, accessed July 5, 2025, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=IQQHHD9BB5B4NH1.
MLA:
Haig, Douglas. "Britain’s Back to the Wall." 1916-1925: America– War and Peace, in America, Vol.12, Pp.76-77, Original Sources. 5 Jul. 2025. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=IQQHHD9BB5B4NH1.
Harvard:
Haig, D, 'Britain’s Back to the Wall' in 1916-1925: America– War and Peace. cited in , America, Vol.12, Pp.76-77. Original Sources, retrieved 5 July 2025, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=IQQHHD9BB5B4NH1.
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