The German Spring Offensive was a WW1 massive German assault on the Western Front. It began on March 21, ending on June 11, 1918. It was an attempt to end this armed conflict in their favor, breaking the stalemate of the trench warfare. Ordered by General Erich Ludendorff, the attacks marked the deepest German advance into French territory since 1914, when World War I had broken out.
The German Empire was able to launch such a large-scale offensive thanks to the Bolshevik Revolution, with its new government led by Lenin, that had put Russia out of the war. This allowed Germany to transfer approximately 500,000 troops from the Eastern to the Western Front, reinforcing their all their military units deployed there. The Central Powers hoped that the 1918 Spring Offensive would enable them to end the war before the United States Army became firmly established in France.
Below, German Sturmtruppen (stormtroopers) being relocated as they got ready for the big offensive of Spring, 1918.
The offensive consisted of four separate German attacks, which were concentrated on three points along the front line; Lys, Aisne, and Arras. 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. But the strategy was somewhat altered by the planning process.
Operation Michael: The offensive was launched at 4.40 am, on March 21, 1918. In just five hours, the Germans fired one million artillery shells at the British lines held by the 5th Army. The artillery bombardment was followed by an attack by elite storm troopers. These soldiers traveled lightly and were skilled in fast, hard-hitting attacks to disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units and supply depots in the rear areas, infiltrating and bypassing enemy front line units as they left these strong points to be mopped-up by follow-up troops. A German breakthrough was accomplished just to the north of the boundary between the French and British armies. The French commander-in-chief, General Petain, sent reinforcements to the sector too slowly and the Allies reacted by appointing the French General Ferdinand Foch to coordinate all Allied activity in France and then as commander in chief of all Allied forces everywhere. But 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 center of Amiens and the defence began to stiffen. After fruitless attempts to capture Amiens, Ludendorff called off Operation Michael on April 5.
Operation Georgette: The attack started on April 9 after a heavy bombarment. 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. By the end of the day, the few British divisions in reserve were hard-pressed to hold a line along the River Lys. 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. Ludendorff ended Georgette on April 29.
Operation Blücher-Yorck: As 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. The German attack began on May 27, between Soissons and Rheims. 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, and as a result, the assault was very effective and the Allied front at this point collapsed. Despite French and British resistance on the flanks, German troops advanced to the Marne River and Paris seemed a realistic objective. However, United States Army machine-gunners and Marine Corps halted the German advance at Château-Thierry.
Operation Gneisenau: It was launched on June 9. The German advance was impressive, despite fierce French and American resistance. But, at Compiegne, a sudden French counter-attack on June 11 caught the Germans by surprise and halted their advance. Gneisenau was called off the following day.
German stormtroopers attack a British trench. They were the spearheads of the offensive
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