Anne-Sophie Flament Cimeti. At the end of the German high command found itself in a particularly favourable situation. The October Revolution and the subsequent disintegration of the Russian Army would allow the Germans to concentrate their fighting forces on the Western Front.
It was in this context that Ludendorff began to prepare a massive and, what he hoped would be, decisive attack to be launched the following spring before the American Army fulfilled its fighting potential on European soil. The offensive would bear on the British Army which the German strategists considered to be exhausted after fighting four bloody and fruitless offensives in the course of at Arras , Messines, Passchendaele and Cambrai.
By mid-April most of the German divisions on the Eastern Front had been transferred to the French border. Of the divisions stationed along the front line, fifty were allocated to the British front despite the French front being much longer. The Germans had great hopes for their offensive, giving it the grand name of Kaiserschlacht , the "Emperor's Battle".
The offensive would comprise two phases, the first striking Somme and the second confirming the breach in French Flanders. The first part of the offensive, Operation Michael, was expected to breach the British front at Arras and then head north to cut off their railway supply lines.
This would, it was hoped, allow the Germans to envelop the British forces and secure their surrender. Total German losses were estimated to be 30, on 8 August. The Allies suffered about 6, killed, wounded and missing. It was the first time that such large-scale capitulations had occurred. Both Ludendorff and the Kaiser now concluded in private that Germany could no longer win the war. Ground attack aircraft like this Bristol fighter played an important role in the advances of August Much use was made of the Australian and Canadian Corps in these attacks.
Nevertheless, parts of the German Army continued to fight ferociously and Allied casualties remained very heavy.
During the next two months, the Allies continued to pursue the Germans. Under relentless pressure, they were forced to sue for peace. At 11am that day, the ceasefire came into effect, finally ending the war. For the first time in its history the British Army had taken on and defeated the main body of the main enemy in a European war.
When the armistice was announced, the British were back at Mons where they had first been engaged at the start of the war in Peace came at a huge cost. The mobile warfare since March had cost each side over a million men. First World War Europe s. After the Armistice in November , millions of soldiers hoped they would soon go home. But demobilising so many troops was a huge task.
How best to mark the Allied victory and commemorate the fallen also became subjects for debate. In , Germany adopted a defensive strategy on the Western Front to counter the growing strength of the Allies. Despite launching several offensives, and suffering heavy casualties, the Allies achieved mixed results. The bitter struggle that followed came to symbolize the horrors of trench warfare.
In September , the face of battle changed forever. On an unsuspecting enemy, Britain unleashed its new secret weapon - the tank. Large bloody battles, claims of hereditary rights and campaigning feature alongside quirky stories of everyday life. A unique event from each day of the year is to be found in this book. Links Wikipedia entry on the Spring Offensive. Share this: Twitter Facebook. Close this module. When were the Princes in the Tower last seen? The Spring Offensives failed for several reasons.
There were serious command errors. Ludendorff squandered his best chance at victory by missing British logistical vulnerabilities, and he lost a grip on the operations, repeatedly reinforcing mere tactical successes.
These enemies were tough and eventually learned from the tactical mistakes which had contributed to their reverses. Critics accused Ludendorff of squandering a chance of negotiated peace with a military operation doomed to fail. Under pressure, the Allies streamlined their command, appointing Ferdinand Foch coordinating General-in-Chief. The million U. By contrast, the German army had no reserves to replace its nearly 1 million casualties and was stretched out on a front kilometers longer than in March.
Its fittest and best-trained troops had disproportionately perished in the failed operations. Officers and soldiers were exhausted and demoralized. Watson, Alexander: German Spring Offensives , in: online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. DOI : Version 1. German Spring Offensives
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