Ancre Defensive Battle Stabilised
Haig's armies check the final major thrust of Operation Michael along the Ancre.
Role range: 1914-1918
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Douglas Haig Biography and Timeline — Page 5
Follow Douglas Haig through 289 dated historical records for Great Britain.
Douglas Haig, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
289Distinct records
5 of 8Page
1918–1918Years on this page
1918
Estaires Defensive Crisis Managed
Haig directs reinforcements after German forces break into British and Portuguese positions near Estaires.
Role range: 1914-1918
Lys Offensive Emergency Measures Ordered
Haig shifts reserves north as the German offensive opens against the Flanders front.
Role range: 1914-1918
Flanders Reserves Shifted during Lys Crisis
Haig moves reserves north as the German Lys offensive threatens the British position in Flanders.
Role range: 1914-1918
Backs to the Wall Order Issued
Haig issues his famous order calling on every position to be held during the Flanders crisis.
Role range: 1914-1918
Backs-to-the-Wall Order Addresses Flanders Crisis
Haig issues his emergency order while German advances threaten British communications and positions in Flanders.
Role range: 1914-1918
Backs to the Wall Order
Haig issues his order during the Ypres crisis.
Role range: 1914-1918 – 1915-1918
Bailleul Sector Reinforced
Haig sends reserves toward Bailleul as German attacks threaten the northern British front.
Role range: 1914-1918
First Kemmel Defence Supported
Haig supports British and French resistance during the first major German attack around Kemmel.
Role range: 1914-1918
Bethune Defence Reinforced
Haig reinforces the Bethune sector where German attacks are repelled during the Lys offensive.
Role range: 1914-1918
Villers-Bretonneux Counterattack Supported
Haig supports the counterattack that restores the Allied position east of Amiens.
Role range: 1914-1918
Second Kemmel Fighting Coordinated
Haig coordinates British and French resistance during renewed German attacks around Kemmel.
Role range: 1914-1918
Aisne Crisis Reinforcements Reviewed
Haig reviews reinforcement requirements after Germany launches a new offensive on the Aisne.
Role range: 1914-1918
Offensive
Launches the Messines offensive
Role range: 1914-1918
Hamel Limited Offensive Approved
Haig supports the carefully coordinated Australian-led attack at Hamel as a model for combined-arms warfare.
Role range: 1914-1918
Amiens Offensive
Accepts Rawlinson's proposal for an offensive against the German salient near Amiens.
Role range: 1914-1918
Conference of Bombon
Takes part in Allied planning before the Amiens Offensive, as Foch coordinates operations for the Western Front.
Role range: 1914-1918
Amiens Surprise Plan Approved
Haig approves secrecy and concentration measures for the planned Allied counteroffensive near Amiens.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of Amiens
Directs British forces as the Amiens attack opens the Allied advance on the Western Front.
Role range: 1914-1918
Amiens Offensive
Commands the British Expeditionary Force as Rawlinson's Fourth Army attacks with Debeney's French First Army at Amiens.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of Amiens
The Battle of Amiens opens in fog. British Fourth Army and French First Army break through German lines and begin the Hundred Days advance.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of Amiens
The Second Armys failure to secure the fall of Amiens (in particular the critically important railway junction) in the centre of the German line compromised the whole of Ludendorffs planned advance. 8-11 Aug, offensive instigated by Haig, ultimately leads to victory
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of Picardy, 3rd
The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy, begins the Allied counter-offensive later called the Hundred Days Offensive.
Role range: 1914-1918
Hundred Days Counteroffensive Opened
Haig's armies join the Allied counteroffensive that begins the decisive Hundred Days campaign.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of Picardy, 3rd
On 10th August the French 3rd Army launched attacks in the southern sector of the advance. Montdidier was re-captured and the Paris-Amiens railway line was once again in Allied control
Role range: 1914-1918
Capture of Montdidier
On 10th August the French 3rd Army launched attacks in the southern sector of the advance. Montdidier was re-captured and the Paris-Amiens railway line was once again in Allied control
Role range: 1914-1918
Third Army
On 10th August the French 3rd Army launched attacks in the southern sector of the advance. Montdidier was re-captured and the Paris-Amiens railway line was once again in Allied control
Role range: 1914-1918
ANZAC
The second phase of the offensive began on 21st August as the Second Battles of the Somme 1918. The French Tenth and 3rd Armies, and the British 3rd and First Army attacked. The ANZAC captured ground north of the Somme river at Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Canadian forces captured ground near Queant
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of the Somme, 2nd
The second phase of the offensive began on 21st August as the Second Battles of the Somme 1918. The French Tenth and 3rd Armies, and the British 3rd and First Army attacked. The ANZAC captured ground north of the Somme river at Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Canadian forces captured ground near Queant
Role range: 1914-1918
First Army
The second phase of the offensive began on 21st August as the Second Battles of the Somme 1918. The French Tenth and 3rd Armies, and the British 3rd and First Army attacked. The ANZAC captured ground north of the Somme river at Peronne and Mont St. Quentin. Canadian forces captured ground near Queant
Role range: 1914-1918
Action at Outersteene Ridge
The Flanders Advance is also known as the Fifth Battle of Ypres.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battles of the Somme, 2nd
Begins the next phase of the Allied advance after Amiens by attacking toward Albert.
Role range: 1914-1918
Albert Advance Renewed
Haig renews British attacks on the old Somme battlefield as German forces begin falling back.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battles of the Somme, 2nd
British Third and Fourth Armies renew the advance on the old Somme battlefield, forcing the German Second Army back.
Role range: 1914-1918
Scarpe Advance Supported
Haig supports Canadian-led attacks along the Scarpe that push German forces toward the Hindenburg Line.
Role range: 1914-1918
Bapaume Recapture Operations Supported
Haig's Third Army continues pressure as British forces retake Bapaume during the Hundred Days.
Role range: 1914-1918
Drocourt-Queant Line Broken
Haig's First Army breaks the Drocourt-Queant defensive system and forces further German withdrawal.
Role range: 1914-1918
Battle of the Somme, 2nd
By 4th September the German forces had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line, the position from which they had advanced to make the offensives in the earlier part of the year
Role range: 1914-1918
Hindenburg Line
By 4th September the German forces had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line, the position from which they had advanced to make the offensives in the earlier part of the year
Role range: 1914-1918
Hundred Days Offensive
By early September German forces fall back toward the Hindenburg Line after Allied pressure following Amiens and the Somme battles.
Role range: 1914-1918
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.