When:
March 21 – July 18, 1918
Where:
Western Front
Who:
Central Powers – German Empire
Allied Powers – France
Allied Powers – British Empire
Allied Powers – Portugal
Associated Powers – USA
Summary:
By the spring of 1918, it looked fairly certain that the United States would enter World War I. The war became concentrated on the Western Front with armistice being signed with Russia on December 16, 1917.
This allowed Germany to move the troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front and launch a series of offensives on the Western Front. Known as the German Spring Offensive, these attacks began on March 21, 1918, and lasted until July 18, 1918.
The German Spring Offensive was launched on March 21, 1918, toward the western fringes of Cambrai. The attack started with heavy bombardment and shelling of the Allied lines. Over a million shells were fired in a matter of five hours. The German infantry then launched an attack with surprising speed. Highly skilled soldiers stormed the Allied lines. Their speed was due to the fact that, unlike in earlier attacks, they moved with very few arms and supplies. Over 21,000 BEF soldiers were taken prisoner. The British Fifth Army withdrew beyond the Somme region.
The Germans then employed their latest invention, the Krupp cannons, and launched over 180 shells at Paris, over seventy-four miles away. The German Eighteenth Army reached as far as Amiens. The speed of the assault was the greatest strength of the Germans. It also proved to be their weakness since they soon ran out of supplies. The supply lines could not keep pace with the lighter troops. General Ludendorff ordered an attack on Amiens instead of allowing for the troops to consolidate their victory. Food ran short and the soldiers who had started out with much vigor and speed could not get past Albert to attack Amiens. The German camp had also lost over 230,000 soldiers.
By April, the entry of the United States into the war added a large number of troops to the Allied ranks. This further weakened the Germans, both in morale and in numbers. By July 1918, the Germans had lost over a million soldiers in their Spring Offensive. The French counteroffensive in Marne cut off the German supplies ending the offensive in disaster.
Major Battles of World War I |
| Battle of Mons – 1914 | German Spring Offensive – 1918 |
| Battle of Tannenberg – 1914 | Battles of Gaza – 1917 |
| Battle of Heligoland Bight – 1914 | Second Battle of Aisne – 1917 |
| First Battle of Marne – 1914 | Second Battle of Arras – 1917 |
| First Battle of the Masurian Lakes – 1914 | Battle of Messines – 1917 |
| First Battle of Aisne – 1914 | Battle of Passchendaele – 1917 |
| First Battle of Albert – 1914 | Battle of Caporetto – 1917 |
| First Battle of Arras – 1914 | Battle of Cambrai – 1917 |
| First Battle of Ypres – 1914 | German Spring Offensive – 1918 |
| Gallipoli Campaign – 1915 | Hundred Days Offensive – 1918 |
| Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes – 1915 | German Spring Offensive – 1918 |
| Battles of Isonzo – 1915 | Second Battle of Somme – 1918 |
| Loos-Artois Offensive – 1915 | Second Battle of Marne – 1918 |
| Battle of Verdun – 1916 | Battle of St Mihiel – 1918 |
| German Spring Offensive – 1918 | Battle of Cambrai – 1917 |
| First Battle of Somme – 1916 | Battle of Vittori Veneto – 1918 |