Liberation of Amiens
The final liberation of the town began on August 8th, with the great Allied offensive. The 4th British army (Rawlinson) and the 1st French army (Debeney), in liaison on the road from Amiens to Roye, attacked at dawn from Braches to Morlancourt, the respective positions of Von der Marwitz and Von Hutier. The Australian and Canadian infantry, supported by numerous tanks, completely surprised the panic-stricken enemy. In a few hours, Villers-Bretonneux was cleared, and in the evening the British reached Chépilly, Framerville, Caix, and Beaucourt-en-Santerre.
To the south, the French, by clever manœuvring, advanced 8 kilometres, and established themselves on the line La-Neuville-Sire-Bernard-Plessier-Rozainvillers-Villers-aux-Érables. That night, Debeney and Rawlinson joined hands at Mezières, both having captured enormous booty.
On the 9th, progress was maintained, in spite of the growing resistance of the enemy. The British took the line of exterior defensive works of Amiens, and reached Le Quesnel, Rosières-en-Santerre, Rainecourt, and Morocourt. Debeney encircled Montdidier; to the north, his troops captured Arvillers and Pierrepont, while to the south, an attack made in the evening forced the enemy to evacuate the town on the following morning and to retreat to La Bossière. During the same day (10th), the British captured Proyart and approached Chaulnes.
From that moment Amiens was safe from further aggression, as the Germans, harried by the victorious Allied armies, retreated each day.