German Spring Offensive, 1918
Part of the Western Front of World War I
Date March 21 – July 18, 1918 Location Northern France; West Flanders, Belgium Result Strategic Stalemate Tactical German Empire Victory[1]
Belligerents
British Empire  France  United States	German Empire
Commanders
Ferdinand Foch Douglas Haig Philippe Petain John Pershing	Erich Ludendorff
Casualties and losses
418,374 British[2] 433,000 French[3] Total: 851,374	688,341[4]

The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser's Battle) and also known as the Ludendorff Offensive was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, which marked the deepest advances by either side since 1914. Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region also named Flanders, in Belgium. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 was a French soldier military theorist and writer credited with possessing "the most original Field Marshal Douglas Haig 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951 generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain ( Maréchal Pétain) John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB ( September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948) was an officer in the United States Army Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as von Ludendorff) (9 April 1865–20 December 1937 was a German Army officer, Generalquartiermeister Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The German authorities had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be deployed. Materiel (from the French "matériel" for equipment or hardware related to the word Material) is a term used in English to refer to the They also had the advantage of nearly 50 divisions freed by the Russian surrender (Treaty of Brest-Litovsk). A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers Not to be confused with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 9 1918, a similar treaty involving Ukraine and the Central Powers.

There were four separate German attacks, codenamed Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, and Blücher-Yorck. They were initially intended to draw forces away from the Channel ports that were essential for British supply and then attack the ports and other lines of communication. The planning process, however, diluted the strategy.

Tactics

By this late stage of the war, both sides had refined their tactics.

Offensive tactics

The German army had developed stormtrooper units, with infantry trained in Hutier tactics (after Oskar von Hutier) to infiltrate and bypass enemy front line units, leaving these strongpoints to be "mopped-up" by follow-up troops. The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German In Warfare infiltration tactics involve small lightly-equipped Infantry forces attacking enemy rear areas while bypassing enemy front-line strongpoints and isolating Oskar von Hutier ( August 27, 1857 &ndash December 5, 1934) was one of Germany 's most successful and innovative generals of World The stormtroopers' tactic was to attack and disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units and supply depots in the rear areas, as well as to occupy territory rapidly. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine Each major formation "creamed off" its best and fittest soldiers into storm units; several complete divisions were formed from these elite units. This process gave the German army an initial advantage in the attack, but meant that the best formations would suffer disproportionately heavy casualties, while the quality of the formations stripped of their best personnel declined.

To enable the initial breakthrough, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Bruchmüller,^[5] a German artillery officer, developed the Feuerwalze, an effective and economical artillery bombardment scheme. Georg Bruchmüller, nicknamed Durchbruchmüller ( December 11, 1863 - January 26, 1948) was a German Artillery A barrage' is a line or barrier of exploding Artillery shells, created by the co-ordinated targeting of a large number of Guns firing continuously There were three phases: a brief attack on the enemy's command and communications, destruction of their artillery and lastly an attack upon the enemy front-line infantry defences. Bombardment would always be brief so as to retain surprise. Bruchmüller's tactics were made possible by the vast numbers of heavy guns (with correspondingly plentiful amounts of ammunition for them) which Germany possessed by 1918. It was possible for the Germans to launch an offensive at almost any vital part of the front without giving the Allies notice of their intentions by moving guns and shells to the threatened sector.

Defensive tactics

In their turn, the Allies had developed defences in depth, reducing the proportion of troops in their front line and pulling reserves and supply dumps back beyond German artillery range. This change had been made after experience of the successful German use of defence in depth during 1917.

In theory, the front line was an "outpost zone" (later renamed the "forward zone"), lightly held by snipers, patrols and machine-gun posts only. Behind was the "battle zone", where the offensive was to be firmly resisted, and behind that again was a "rear zone", where reserves were held ready to counter-attack or seal off penetrations. In theory a British infantry division (with 9 infantry battalions) deployed 3 battalions in the outpost zone, 4 battalions in the battle zone and 2 battalions in the rear zone.

This change had not been completely implemented by the Allies. In particular, in the sector held by the British Fifth Army, which they had recently taken over from French units, the defences were not completed and there were too few troops to hold the complete position in depth. The Fifth Army was a field army of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The rear zone existed as outline markings only, and the battle zone consisted of battalion "redoubts" which were not mutually supporting (allowing stormtroopers to penetrate between them).

Michael

Main article: First Battle of the Somme (1918)

On March 21, 1918 the Germans launched a major offensive against the British Fifth Army, and the right wing of the British Third Army. The main Battle of the Somme was fought in the summer and autumn of July 1916 Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Third Army was a British Army unit World War I In World War I the Third Army fought on the Western Front in France

The artillery bombardment began at 4. 40 am on 21 March. The bombardment [hit] targets over an area of 150 square miles, the biggest barrage of the entire war. Over 1,100,000 shells were fired in five hours. . . [1]

The German armies involved were the Seventeenth Army under Otto von Bülow, the Second Army under Georg von der Marwitz and the Eighteenth Army under Oskar von Hutier, with a Corps (Gruppe Gayl) from the Seventh Army supporting Hutier's attack. Otto von Bülow ( October 16 1911 &ndash January 5 2006) was a successful German U-boat commander in World War Johannes Georg von der Marwitz ( 7 July 1856 &ndash 27 October 1929) was a Prussian Cavalry General, who Oskar von Hutier ( August 27, 1857 &ndash December 5, 1934) was one of Germany 's most successful and innovative generals of World Although the British had learned the approximate time and location of the offensive, the weight of the attack and the preliminary bombardment was an unpleasant surprise. The Germans were also fortunate in that the morning of the attack was foggy, allowing the stormtroopers leading the attack to penetrate deep into the British positions undetected.

By the end of the first day, the Germans had broken through at several points on the front of the British Fifth Army, and after two days Fifth Army was in full retreat. As they fell back, many of the "redoubts" were left to be surrounded and overwhelmed by the following German infantry. The right wing of Third Army also retreated, to avoid being outflanked.

Erich Ludendorff, the German commander, failed to follow the correct stormtrooper tactics, as described above. Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as von Ludendorff) (9 April 1865–20 December 1937 was a German Army officer, Generalquartiermeister His lack of a coherent strategy to accompany the new tactics was expressed in a remark to one of his Army Group commanders, Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, in which he stated, "We chop a hole. Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria or Crown Prince Rupert of Bavaria ( German: Kronprinz Rupprecht von Bayern) ( 18 May 1869 &ndash The rest follows". Ludendorff's dilemma was that the most important parts of the allied line were also the most strongly held. Much of the German advance was achieved where it was not strategically significant. Because of this, Ludendorff continually exhausted his forces by attacking strongly entrenched British units. At Arras on March 28, he launched a hastily-prepared attack (Operation Mars) on the left wing of the British Third Army, to try and widen the breach in the Allied lines, and was repulsed. Arras (Atrecht is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate.

The German breakthrough had occurred just to the north of the boundary between the French and British armies. The French commander-in-chief, General Pétain, sent reinforcements to the sector too slowly in the opinion of the British commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Haig, and the British government. Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951 generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain ( Maréchal Pétain) Field Marshal Douglas Haig 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, The Allies reacted by appointing the French General Ferdinand Foch to coordinate all Allied activity in France and then as generalissimo of all Allied forces everywhere. Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 was a French soldier military theorist and writer credited with possessing "the most original Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral.

After three days, the German advance began to falter, as the infantry became exhausted and it became increasingly difficult to move artillery and supplies forward to support them. Fresh British and Australian units were moved to the vital rail centre of Amiens and the defence began to stiffen. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Amiens (amjɛ̃ is a city and commune in northern France, 120 km north of Paris. After fruitless attempts to capture Amiens, Ludendorff called off Operation Michael on April 5. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop By the standards of the time, there had been a substantial advance. It was, however, of little value — a Pyrrhic victory in terms of the casualties suffered by the crack troops, as Amiens and Arras remained in Allied hands. A Pyrrhic victory (ˈpɪrɪk is a victory with devastating cost to the victor The newly-won territory was difficult to traverse, as much of it consisted of the shell-torn wilderness left by the 1916 Battle of the Somme, and difficult to defend against Allied counterattacks. The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, fought from July to November 1916 was among the largest battles of the First World War

The Allies lost nearly 255,000 men (British, British Empire, French and American). They also lost 1,300 artillery pieces and 200 tanks. All of this could be replaced, either from British factories or from American manpower. German troop losses were 239,000 men, largely specialist shocktroops (Stoßtruppen) who were irreplaceable. In terms of morale, the initial German jubilation at the successful opening of the offensive soon turned to disappointment as it became clear that the attack had not achieved decisive results.

Georgette

Main article: Battle of the Lys

Michael had drawn British forces to defend Amiens, leaving the rail route through Hazebrouck and the approaches to the Channel ports of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk vulnerable. The Battle of the Lys (also known as the Lys Offensive, the Battle of Estaires and the Batalha de La Lys in Portugal) was part Hazebrouck is a commune of the Nord département, in northern France. Calais (kaˈlɛ in English often kæˈleɪ traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/ Kales is a town in northern France. Boulogne-sur-Mer ( Bonen in Dutch is a City in Northern France. Dunkirk ( French: Dunkerque, dœ̃kɛʀk or; Dutch:; is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the German success here could choke the British into defeat.

The attack started on April 9 after a Feuerwalze. Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) The Portuguese defenders at the point of attack were rapidly overrun but the British defenders on the southern flank held firm. The next day, the Germans widened their attack to the north, forcing the defenders of Armentieres to withdraw before they were surrounded, and capturing most of the Messines Ridge. Armentières is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. Messines may refer to the village of Mesen in Belgium, where the Battle of Messines was fought during World War I, By the end of the day, the few British divisions in reserve were hard-pressed to hold a line along the River Lys.

Without French reinforcement, it was feared that the remaining 15 miles to the ports could be covered within a week. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) commander, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, issued an "Order of the Day" on April 11 stating, "With our backs to the wall and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end. The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF) was the British army sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium on the outbreak of Field Marshal Douglas Haig 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. "

However, the German offensive had stalled because of logistical problems and exposed flanks. Counterattacks by British, French, American, Canadian and ANZAC forces slowed and stopped the German advance. The Canadian Corps was a World War I Corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Ludendorff ended Georgette on April 29. Events 1429 - Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.

As with Michael, losses were roughly equal, approximately 110,000 men wounded or killed, each. Again, the results were disappointing for the Germans. Hazebrouck remained in Allied hands and the flanks of the German salient were vulnerable. The British abandoned the comparatively worthless territory they had captured at vast cost the previous year around Ypres, freeing several divisions to face the German attackers. Ypres ( French, generally used in English French ipʁ English ˈiːprə Ieper (official name in Dutch, pronounced /ˈiːpər/ or Ypern

Blücher-Yorck

Main article: Third Battle of the Aisne

While Georgette ground to a halt, a new attack on French positions was planned to draw forces further away from the Channel and allow renewed German progress in the north. This article is about the 1918 battle For other battles of the Aisne see Battle of the Aisne. The strategic objective remained to split the British and the French and gain victory before American forces could make their presence felt on the battlefield.

The German attack took place on May 27, between Soissons and Rheims. Events 927 - Simeon the Great, Tsar of Bulgaria, dies 1120 - Richard III of Capua is anointed Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 Reims (alternative English spelling Rheims; riːmz in English and /ʁɛ̃s/ in French) is a city of the Champagne-Ardenne région of northern The sector was partly held by six British divisions which were "resting" after their exertions earlier in the year. In this sector, the defences had not been developed in depth, mainly due to the obstinacy of the commander of the French Sixth Army, General Denis Auguste Duchêne. Denis Auguste Duchene (1862-1950 was a French World War I general As a result, the Feuerwalze was very effective and the Allied front, with a few notable exceptions, collapsed. Duchêne's massing of his troops in the forward trenches also meant there were no local reserves to delay the Germans once the front had broken. Despite French and British resistance on the flanks, German troops advanced to the Marne River and Paris seemed a realistic objective. The Marne is a River in France, a right Tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. However, United States Army machine-gunners and Senegalese sharpshooters halted the German advance at Château-Thierry, with United States Marines also heavily engaged at Belleau Wood. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Battle of Château-Thierry was fought on July 18, 1918 and was one of the first actions involving the United States American Expeditionary Force (AEF The Battle of Belleau Wood ( June 1 - June 26, 1918) occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the

Yet again, losses were much the same on each side: 137,000 Allied and 130,000 German casualties (up to June 6). Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year German losses were again mainly from the difficult-to-replace assault divisions.

Gneisenau

Ludendorff sought to extend Blücher-Yorck westwards with Operation Gneisenau, intending to draw yet more Allied reserves south and to link with the German salient at Amiens.

The French had been warned of this attack by information from German prisoners and their defence in depth reduced the impact of the artillery bombardment on June 9. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Nonetheless, the German advance was impressive, despite fierce French and American resistance. At Compiègne, a sudden French counter-attack on June 11 caught the Germans by surprise and halted their advance. Compiègne is a commune in the Oise département of France, of which it is a Sous-préfecture. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Gneisenau was called off the following day.

Losses were approximately 35,000 (Allied) and 30,000 (German).

Last German attack

Main article: Second Battle of the Marne

The final offensive launched by Ludendorff on July 15 was a renewed attempt to draw Allied reserves south from Flanders, and to expand the salient created by Blücher-Yorck eastwards. The Second Battle of the Marne, or Battle of Reims ( July 15 to August 5, 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front Events 1099 - First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final An attack east of Rheims was thwarted by the French defence in depth. Although German troops southwest of Rheims succeeded in crossing the River Marne, the French launched a major offensive of their own on the west side of the salient on July 18, threatening to cut off the Germans in the salient. Events 390 BC - Roman - Gaulish Wars Battle of the Allia - a Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, Although Ludendorff was able to hold off this attack and successfully evacuate the salient, the initiative had clearly passed to the Allies, who were shortly to begin the Hundred Days Offensive which effectively ended the war. The Hundred Days Offensive was the final period of World War I, where the Allies launched a series of offensives against the Central Powers on the

Strategic Impact

The Kaiserschlacht series of offensives had yielded large, in First World War terms, territorial gains for the Germans. However, the strategic objective of a quick victory was not achieved and the German armies were severely depleted, exhausted and in exposed positions. The territorial gains were in the form of salients which greatly increased the length of the line that would have to be defended when allied reinforcements gave the allies the initiative. In six months the strength of the German army had fallen from 5. 1 million fighting men to 4. 2 million. Manpower was exhausted. German High Command predicted they would need 200,000 men per month to make good the losses suffered, but even by drawing on the next annual class of eighteen year olds, only 300,000 recruits would be available for the year. Even worse, they lost most of their best trained men as "stormtroopers" tactics asked them to lead the attack. Even so, about a million German soldiers remained tied up in the east until the end of the war, attempting to run a short-lived addition to the German Empire in Europe. The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and primarily Eastern Europe. German political ambitions remained extravagant until the the very end.

The Allies had been badly hurt but not broken. The lack of a unified high command was partly rectified by the appointment of Marshal Foch to the supreme command and coordination would improve in later Allied operations. Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 was a French soldier military theorist and writer credited with possessing "the most original American troops were for the first time used as independent formations and had proven themselves. Their presence counterbalanced the serious manpower shortages that Britain and France were experiencing after four years of war.

Notes

References

• Blaxland, Gregory [1968] (1981) Amiens 1918, War in the twentieth century series, London : W. H. Allen, ISBN 0-352-30833-8
• Chodorow, Stanley [1969] (1989) Mainstream of Civilization, 5th ed. , San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, ISBN 0-15-551579-9
• Gray, Randal (1991) Kaiserschlacht, 1918: The Final German Offensive, Osprey Campaign Series 11, London : Osprey, ISBN 1-85532-157-2
• Keegan, John (1999) The First World War, London : Pimlico, ISBN 0-7126-6645-1
• Marix Evans, Martin (2002) 1918: The Year of Victories, Arcturus Military History Series, London : Arcturus, ISBN 0-572-02838-5
• Zabecki, David T. (2006) The German 1918 Offensives. A Case Study in the Operational Level of War, London : Routledge, ISBN 0-415-35600-8

See also

• Journey's End, a play set during the early stages of the offensive
• Spring Offensive, a poem by Wilfred Owen