Good, I know what field of research to go into. I had two relatives fight as Marines through the last day of the war. One was mortally wounded and the other was the only one of three to not be shot by a machine gun. I don't doubt that the thousands of soldiers who died on each side where what we'd like to call in vain, however I don't want to write off an impact they may have had in affecting the morale and decision of the Germans on the last day. As I understand it General LeJeune when summoned to a congressional hearing to answer for the amount of American war dead on the last days claimed it was the French who wanted to break the German morale and that's why 4th AEF kept pushing until the final seconds of the war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meuse-Argonne_Offensive#Legacy *Spell

I have a book on this subject, Joe Persico's Eleventh Day Eleventh Month Eleventh Hour, and (of course) I cannot find it at the moment. So I'll try and do my best.

I'm assuming you mean the Allied offensives in the actual last hours of the First World War, not just the last months or weeks. Even in the final hour of the Great War several attacks were launched, a full 11,000 men died in these. It seems pointless now, and seemed pointless to many then. But it should be remembered that this was an armistice, not a definite end to the war, and many Entente commanders opposed it, including American General Jack Pershing. Officers like Pershing were sceptical about the armistice and determined to acquire the best possible bargaining position, by taking more ground and further smashing up the German army. So the motives are understandable, even if the attacks seem unnecessary in hindsight.

Needless to say, these last-minute assaults did not affect the final outcome of the war, and as one historian as written 'The men who died or were maimed in those last few hours suffered needlessly.'

I hope that answers your question.