The capture of Mons, Belgium, took place November 11, 1918. It was part of the Hundred Days Offensive, Allied attacks forcing the German Army into defeat.
The nations involved were Canada and Germany.
“The Germans had occupied the town for four years,” Encyclopedia Britannica says. “Mons was a regional centre for coal mining, and its resources had been used throughout the war to fuel Germany’s war effort. Recapturing Mons now, at the end of the war, was of huge symbolic importance to the Allies.”
Major Battle Events
- The Canadian Corps was ordered to take the city of Mons, which had been under German occupation for the entire war.
- The village of Valenciennes had been taken on Nov. 9.
- The Canadians planned to take the city without destroying it; however, they were met with constant German machine gun fire.
- Within hours the city was liberated, and citizens poured out onto the streets to welcome their liberators.
- The city was captured on the same day as the Armistice. The majority of the fighting was over by the time the news reached the troops.
End Result
Canadian casualties totaled 280.
The penultimate Allied soldier to die in the war was Canadian Private George Price. He was killed by a sniper at Mons two minutes before Armistice.
Prior to today had you ever heard of the capture of Mons? Leave a comment below.
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Updated: 11 August 2018
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