{"id":2466,"date":"2018-03-02T11:33:51","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T11:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=2466"},"modified":"2026-05-31T17:49:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T17:49:32","slug":"britain-western-front-1918","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/world-history\/first-world-war\/britain-western-front-1918\/","title":{"rendered":"Britain and the Western Front in 1918"},"content":{"rendered":"

By 1918 the British Army had, like all of the warring nations, suffered many casualties. Much of the army was now made up of conscripted men, rather than the professional soliders who had formed the BEF in 1914. The Western Front had also changed. There were now American forces on the front in increasing numbers and the contribution of forces from the empire had grown in number. This, however, does not mean that the British had a limited role in the war in 1918. On average the british held 87 miles of front line trenches on the Western Front in 1918 and troops levels were proportionally higher in 1918 than they had been at any time in the war (23% the size of the French army on the Western Front, see\u00a0this page<\/a>\u00a0for statitstics for other years).<\/p>\n

Britain and the Western Front in 1918<\/h2>\n

British forces were heavily involved in defending the front when the Spring Offensives were launched.<\/p>\n

The Ypres Salient continued to see lots of fighting.<\/p>\n

Britian acted as a staging post for troops coming from America and the empire.<\/p>\n

British troops continued to relieve pressure on the French army.<\/p>\n

Other:<\/h3>\n

It must also be remembered that the war was not just fought on the Western Front. In 1918 British forces were successful in the Middle East and the Royal Navy had a crucial role in ensuring that supplies and troops continued to reach Britain and France. The Royal Navy was also hugely successful in blockading German ports and thus cutting off German supply lines.<\/p>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n

British Military Aviation in 1918<\/a>\u00a0– RAF History of the role of British air power in the First World War.<\/p>\n

National Army Museum<\/a>\u00a0– Timeline of 1918 which shows how British troops were involved.<\/p>\n

History Learning Site<\/a>\u00a0– the Spring Offensive. Details how Alied, including british, troops coped with the German attacks.<\/p>\n

Star of Mons in the Ascendant<\/a>\u00a0– The Closing battles of Britain’s army in the First World War.<\/p>\n

\u00a0First World War Homepage<\/a>
\nCauses of the First World War<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Assassination of Franz Ferdinand<\/a>
\nSchlieffen Plan<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Public Reaction to the Outbreak of War<\/a>
\nBritish Expeditionary Force –\u00a0<\/a> Interactive Timeline of the First World War<\/a>
\nSimulation: Life in the Trenches<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Statistics<\/a>
\nChanging role of Women<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0War Poetry<\/a>
\nBritish Contribution to Western Front<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Development of New Weapons<\/a>
\nCreeping Barrage<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0Western Front in 1918<\/a> –
\nHome Front in the First World War<\/a>
\nTimeline Infographic: Causes of World War One<\/a> – Ludendorff and the Spring Offensive<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By 1918 the British Army had, like all of the warring nations, suffered many casualties. Much of the army was now made up of conscripted men, rather than the professional soliders who had formed the BEF in 1914. The Western Front had also changed. There were now American forces on the front in increasing numbers… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":144,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2466","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t