Headstones from the Laventie German Military Cemetery, Laventie, France of territorial guard Alfred Schirmer and Corporal Albert Levy. Schirmer died on August 8, 1918, Levy on August 10, both likely in the Battle of Amiens. © 2013 by John M. Shea
Alfred SchirmerLandsturmmann† 8.8.1918Albert LevyGefreiterGef. 10.8.1918
"The Picardy offensive, better known as the Third Battle of the Somme, opened just before daybreak on August 8th [1918]. A heavy mist prevailed, obscuring the preparations of the British and French armies and assisting in the surprise attack that had been planned.Hundreds of small whippet tanks, capable of great speed, were aligned on the battle front to blaze a path for the infantry. Close by were the cavalry and motorcycle brigades, prepared to make the dash down the divergent Roman roads and clean up the intervening terrain.Planned as a surprise assault, the customary long bombardment of the enemy's position was omitted. Instead, the Allied guns swept the German lines for exactly four minutes, wiping out their defences as though with a sponge. Then away sped the British and French tanks, the infantry following on the double quick.Everywhere along that 40-mile front the Germans were taken by surprise."
German commander Erich Ludendorff would later refer to August 8, 1918, the first day of the Battle of Amiens, as the 'black day for the German Army.' The British Fourth Army and the French First Army on its right advanced as much as eight miles on the first day, inflicting as many as 48,000 casualties, 13,000 of them taken prisoner or missing in action. Over 400 tanks participated in the battle, including the new faster Whippet Tanks and 300 heavy Mark V Tanks.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 451, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
1918-08-08, 1918, August, Battle of Amiens, whippet, whippet tank, Alfred Schirmer
