First World War

The battle of the Sambre, launched on 4 November 1918, was a large-scale offensive aimed at crossing the Sambre line and breaking the last German defensive line before the Belgian plains. Conducted jointly by French, British, and Belgian armies under Foch's coordination, the operation was planned as the final blow to precipitate German collapse. It was marked by frontal assaults against entrenched defences, canal crossings, and intense fighting in flooded or wooded zones.

The battle of the Selle was a coordinated Allied operation, involving notably French and Australian troops, within the general pursuit of the German army after breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line. The objective was to cross the Selle River and reach Le Cateau. Fighting was fierce, notably around bridges and heights held by Germans offering strong resistance. The engagement was marked by excellent inter-Allied cooperation and overwhelming air and artillery superiority.

The battle of Valenciennes, conducted mainly by the Canadian Corps with support of the French army, marked one of the last major confrontations on the Western Front before the Armistice. The objective was to liberate the city, still strongly defended by Germans, notably on the heights of Mont Houy. The attack was hastened by the need to secure the Allied right flank and prepare penetration toward Belgium. Coordination between Allied forces was crucial in this urban and topographically complex combat.

The Meuse-Argonne offensive was the last large-scale operation of the First World War, conducted principally by American forces, but with important French participation, notably from the Fourth Army of General Gouraud. It aimed to break through the Hindenburg Line in the wooded Argonne region and to cut the main German supply routes east of Verdun.

The battle of the Saint-Quentin Canal marks a decisive phase of the Hundred Days Offensive, aimed at breaking through the Hindenburg Line, the last great German defensive system. This joint operation, involving French, British, Australian, and American forces, constitutes a strategic turning point. The bold crossing of the fortified canal provoked the rupture of the German front and precipitated the generalised withdrawal of their forces.