The two supreme questions of the moment were: where will the blow fall? And how quickly will the Americans arrive? Operation Michael began with a devastating barrage of nearly 10, artillery pieces and mortars.
Private Archie Barwick summed up what was felt by many, in his diary entry of 26 March. Bad news still continues to trickle through. General Erich Ludendorff , the First Quartermaster General and de facto commander of the German army, began to consider a renewed offensive on the Western Front in October Forty-eight divisions could be transferred to the Western Front, increasing German strength to against Allied divisions by the spring of The general thus had one final, brief chance to win a decisive victory there before the arrival of overwhelming American forces.
He refused to set final territorial objectives. This was a gross error, for the British army was highly vulnerable at the rail hubs of Amiens and Hazebrouck and capturing these logistical choke points could have pushed it from the continent. Instead, Ludendorff chose his attack front with two other aims in mind. First, he hoped to punch through at the boundary between the British and French armies here and then turn north to eliminate the British line.
Second, tactical and psychological calculations were paramount. The defenders were weak here, raising the likelihood of a breakthrough. The German offensive codenamed Michael opened on 21 March At am, 6, guns and 3, mortars began a devastating bombardment and five hours later the infantry advanced.
Great care had been taken to achieve surprise. However, operationally the offensive was a failure. The Germans captured nothing of value and neither destroyed the British army nor split it from its French ally. The renewed German attempts to break the western Allies in subsequent months repeated the pattern of Michael. With the United States now in the war and sending a seemingly endless supply of troops overseas, Germany attempted to win the war with a knockout blow before the untrained Americans became an effective force.
The attack mauled two British armies and overran thousands of stunned Allied troops. The Canadian Corps escaped a direct blow, but several of its divisions were pulled away temporarily to plug holes in the Allied line.
Weakness This early success belied the core weaknesses of the plan. British guns move up to meet the offensive, March Soldiers move up during the Battle of St Quentin, March A British casualty near St Quentin, 18 March Soldiers of 17th Division gather at Henencourt after the evacuation of Hermies, 26 March Every position must be held to the last man: there must be no retirement. 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 safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind alike depend upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment. The French and Americans at Cantigny, 28 May Offensives held On 7 April the Germans tried again with a smaller offensive south of Ypres.
German soldiers killed near Chipelly, August Allied soldiers on the roof of a captured A7V tank, Black Day This time it was the German front that broke. Prisoners captured during the August battles, Thanksgiving service at Le Quesnoy, 11 November The populace became wildly excited, not having heard their National Anthem for a long time.
An old man wearing an old fashioned night cap opened a window and leant so far forward, cheering and waving his arms that one feared he might topple out. Related topics First World War Europe s.
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