Military History of the First World War
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Ludendorff's offensive in the West
Hindenburg and Ludendorff were able to reinforce the Western front, deploying troops from the Eastern front, following the collapse of Russia and by conscripting a further 100,000 men from Germany industry. They planned to attack the British using 750,000 men against the British 300,000 and 6,600 field guns. The attack would be lead by elite troops - the storm troops - their purpose was to penetrate deep into enemy lines, leaving other forces following-up to mop up the pockets of resistance. The German offensive, Operation Michael, opened on 21st March, attacking the British sector between St. Quentin and Arras. The massive artillery barrage and use of storm troops proved effective and the Germans were able to advance 40 miles along a 50 mile front. They closed in on Amiens. However, as they did so, their troops suffered from fatigue. The British were able to reinforce their line, with troops from the French sector and also from Britain. The Germans switched their attention to the salient in Ypres, launching Operation Georgette, commencing 8th April. They made further progress by attacking south of the Ypres salient, but again the British were able to hold the line. In a third operation, Operation Blücher-Yorxk, they attacked the French on the Chemin des Dames, commencing 27th May. They pushed the French back 40 miles and were once again on the Marne and within sight of Paris. Once again the French were able to reform their line and the offensive ground to a halt. Further offensives on the 9th July at Chemin des Dames and 9th June on the Marne were also repulsed. German casualties were about 1 million; the Allies 900,000. However, by this time the Germans were unable to replace their losses; thus the Allies were close to victory.
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Contents of
Military History of the First World War
1 The Central Powers and the Entente
2 The run-up to the war: The July Crisis, 1914
3 Military Planning in Advance of the War
4 Serbia and the Eastern Front, 1914
5 The Battle for the Marne
6 The Race to the Sea and the First Battle of Ypres
7 First Battle of Ypres
8 The Pacific
9 Africa
10 The Eastern Front during 1915
11 Italy enters the war
12 The Balkans
13 The Western Front
14 Gallipoli
15 The Western Front, 1916
16 Verdun
17 The Battle of the Somme
18 The Trentino Offensive
19 The Brusilov Offensive
20 Romania
21 The Russian Front in 1917
22 Mesopotamia
23 The Nivelle Offensive
24 The Third Battle of Ypres (The Battle of Passendaele)
25 Cambrai
26 Caporetto
27 German offensive in Russia, 1918
28 Ludendorff's offensive in the West
29 Allied counter-offensive
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