Breaking the Hindenburg Line

In September 1918, the First World War was nearing its end, but no one on the Western Front could be certain of that. The German Army still clung to the Hindenburg Line, a massive belt of fortifications stretching across northern France. At St. Quentin Canal, this line was at its strongest, defended by concrete bunkers, deep wire, and the canal itself, which served as a natural moat. For years, German commanders had called it impregnable.

On September 29, Allied forces tested that claim. Americans, Australians, and British troops attacked together in one of the largest assaults of the war. The fighting was brutal and confused, but by nightfall the canal had been crossed, the defenses shattered, and German morale fatally broken. The breach convinced German leaders that victory was impossible. The Battle of St. Quentin Canal became the decisive moment that brought the Great War to its closing chapter.