Afternoon edition of Cheyenne's Wyoming Tribune, March 21, 1918.
It was a momentous day, to be sure.
Excellent map showing all five expressions of the Kaiserschlacht, the massive German campaign to end the war in 1918. Every single part of the offensive was a tactical success for the Germans. . . but not enough of a success to win the war.
And so, on this day, the German Army began its last great, and nearly successful, offensive the Great War. An offensive, however, whose result was foreordained by the lack of German horsepower.
What the Germans were lacking by this point of World War One.
There will be a lot of "100 Year Ago" type history venues on this event, as it is a big one. It was, truly, the German's last big gasp of World War One. It wrecked the offensive abilities of the German Army for the duration of the war, but it was something they had to try. After the Kaiserschlacht the Germans could only defend and their strategy changed to that. It wouldn't work long as the home front crumbled behind the German front, to include the crumbling in moral of the German Army and Navy at home.
The offensive, made up of a series of operations that would take place over the next two months, commenced with Operation Michael, a massive offensive against the British Expeditionary Force.
Operation Michael
The offensive, made up of a series of operations that would take place over the next two months, commenced with Operation Michael, a massive offensive against the British Expeditionary Force.
Operation Michael
Repeat of the map above. Operation Michael is the "First German Drive" of the mpa.
The Kaiserschlacht, it not Operation Michael, was somewhat obvious in that it had been known for months that the Germans would try a giant 1918 offensive. As early as February the American soldier's newspaper Wadsworth Gas Attack and Rio Grand Rattler had published an issue was a drunk Mars "waiting for spring". It was coming, and everyone knew it.
Everyone with any military savvy also knew that with Russia having now surrendered to the Germans, and the Germans having been sensible enough to accept a negotiated peace, something they failed to do in World War Two, millions of German troops should have now been available to fight in the West. However, what hadn't been counted on with Trotsky's blundering, which delayed the onset of peace by a month, and German avarice, which caused t he German's to use Trotsky's error to absorb huge areas of Russian territory and former Imperial territory they were now left garrisoning as if they had the spare manpower to do it.
The Germans should have poured out of the East, taking every horse they could "conscript" with them. German troops did come, but not in the numbers they could have.
So the Allies braced for an offensive they knew was coming. They were not idle. The British, operating partially on intelligence gathered from two German deserters, not only anticipated the attack, but placed the probable date of the attack on this very day, although they anticipated it could be slightly earlier. As a result, the British had been engaged in nightly artillery strikes on German positions since March 18.
On this day, the offensive commenced with the assault on the BEF.
A closer view of the successful German drive on the Somme. Over a three week period the Germans wiped out British gains on the Somme and seriously threatened the position of the BEF in Europe.
The Battle of St. Quentin, the Somme Crossings and the First Battle of Bapaume
It commenced with an artillery barraged at 0435 on British positions near St. Quentin (and it also saw the commencement of German artillery strikes on Paris). While our memory of it has become skewed due to the intense British focus on World War One, the British were a small army compared to the French, but they were also in much better fighting shape than the French overall. While the bombardment was massive, it did not leave the British incapable of resisting. Nonetheless, after extremely intense infantry combat, which started with a German assault at 0940, the British had yielded in some places and began to retreat. Already on March 21 the British had lost ground. This continued to be the case through March 23.
It commenced with an artillery barraged at 0435 on British positions near St. Quentin (and it also saw the commencement of German artillery strikes on Paris). While our memory of it has become skewed due to the intense British focus on World War One, the British were a small army compared to the French, but they were also in much better fighting shape than the French overall. While the bombardment was massive, it did not leave the British incapable of resisting. Nonetheless, after extremely intense infantry combat, which started with a German assault at 0940, the British had yielded in some places and began to retreat. Already on March 21 the British had lost ground. This continued to be the case through March 23.
British artillery in retreat.
The British broke at St. Quentin, but their resistance had already worked a toll on the German forces which had begun to slow down. Nonetheless the British lost their lines on the Somme on March 24. The same day the British lost the town of Bapaume and the French began to be concerned that the British had been irretrievably beaten. Ironically the German capture of British supplies caused despondency in the German rank as German troops realized, from what they captured, that the British were very well supplied and even had stocks of Champagne in their stores. The French, however, began plans for an offensive operation against the Germans out of a fear that the British situation could not be restored.
By the 25th the French were in fact engaged, but in defensive operations, and the overall situation was confused. Fighting was occurring everywhere but what was occurring was not clear to anyone. British cavalry was in action in rearguard operations slowing German advances and the RAF was busy as well, as both the oldest and newest forms of mobile warfare combined against the Germans.
Nonetheless a council of war was held on the 26th with the result that General Foch of the French Army was made the supreme Allied commander.
The Battle of Rosieres and the Battle of Arrars
On the 26th and 27th the British fought the Battle of Rosieres in which the British committed tanks. Nonetheless the Allies continued to lose ground and lost the town of Albert during the night. Throughout the retreat phase that went through the 27th Tommies occasionally panicked and took up defense positions at the report of German cavalry being just over the horizon. Still, while they retreated continually they did not disintegrate and both the British and the French remained in action throughout. On the 28th a German assault only a handful of miles, showing that the Germans were slowing. A primary factor was that the German cavalry that was needed to exploit the breakthroughs in the Allied lines that continually occurred simply didn't exit.
By the 25th the French were in fact engaged, but in defensive operations, and the overall situation was confused. Fighting was occurring everywhere but what was occurring was not clear to anyone. British cavalry was in action in rearguard operations slowing German advances and the RAF was busy as well, as both the oldest and newest forms of mobile warfare combined against the Germans.
British 6 Inch Gun firing on March 26 near Ancre.
Nonetheless a council of war was held on the 26th with the result that General Foch of the French Army was made the supreme Allied commander.
The Battle of Rosieres and the Battle of Arrars
On the 26th and 27th the British fought the Battle of Rosieres in which the British committed tanks. Nonetheless the Allies continued to lose ground and lost the town of Albert during the night. Throughout the retreat phase that went through the 27th Tommies occasionally panicked and took up defense positions at the report of German cavalry being just over the horizon. Still, while they retreated continually they did not disintegrate and both the British and the French remained in action throughout. On the 28th a German assault only a handful of miles, showing that the Germans were slowing. A primary factor was that the German cavalry that was needed to exploit the breakthroughs in the Allied lines that continually occurred simply didn't exit.
There wasn't any. The Germans were now, in terms of fighting at the front, an infantry force only. They'd lose the war as a result. The could exploit gaps in the British lines no quicker than a man could advance, and with each days advance the German troops became more and more fatigued until, at last, they simply refused to move, even under threat of death.
The First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the Battle of Moreuil Wood
On March 30 the Germans none the less tried again, launching an assault south of the new Somme salient towards Amiens. The Germans gained some ground but it was slight, and German troops lost discipline when they hit Allied supply depots. This phase of the German offensive saw the remarkable Canadian cavalry charge in the Battle of Moreuil Wood in which the Canadian Cavalry Brigade conducted a mounted assault near the village of Moreuil, taking the wood against the prediction of failure of a nearby French unit, receiving assistance from the RFC in the assault. The Germans retook the wood the following day, March 31, but the Canadians then took it back. The Germans ultimately retook the wood, showing the intense nature of the fighting, but the overall offensive was called off shortly after that. Operation Michael had gained a lot of ground, but it had ground to a halt. By April 5 the Germans were exhausted and an effort to resume the offensive against the British failed.
The initial German advance had been significant, but equally significant is that the Germans had failed to take any of their objectives and by April 5 they were halted. The German advance was impressive, but far short of achieving a knockout blow. German and British losses were nearly equal at 250,000 men but the British were able to make up material shortages so rapidly that loss of material turned out to be relatively inconsequential. German manpower losses, however, were catastrophic as it had lost a significant number of elite troops in the effort, which it would not be able to replace.
Many of the German troops lost were Stoßtruppen
Stoßtruppen were a late war German innovation created to attempt to restore mobility to the battlefield. Highly trained light infantrymen, these "Storm Troops" were in some ways the first of their kind. Predecessors of units like the later American Rangers and other similar elite infantry units, they were trained to storm enemy positions and overwhelm them in violent rapidly moving assaults. They were equipped accordingly, carrying pistols, K98a's, and as seen above, submachineguns.
They were also a bit of a desperate effort on the part of the Germans to make up for the lack of cavalry, something which is evident but rarely discussed. Unable to take a concentrated enemy position by a mounted charge, the Germans had to resort to infantry, something that had proven to be a failure since 1914. They sought to overcome this through highly trained specialized infantry. It worked in part, but only in part. Stoßtruppen could penetrate. . . but they really couldn't advance. And by April 5, the Germans weren't advancing.
But they couldn't stop. To do so was to conceded an inevitable defeat. So, ground to a halt against the British though they were, they determined to renew the offensive elsewhere.
The First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the Battle of Moreuil Wood
On March 30 the Germans none the less tried again, launching an assault south of the new Somme salient towards Amiens. The Germans gained some ground but it was slight, and German troops lost discipline when they hit Allied supply depots. This phase of the German offensive saw the remarkable Canadian cavalry charge in the Battle of Moreuil Wood in which the Canadian Cavalry Brigade conducted a mounted assault near the village of Moreuil, taking the wood against the prediction of failure of a nearby French unit, receiving assistance from the RFC in the assault. The Germans retook the wood the following day, March 31, but the Canadians then took it back. The Germans ultimately retook the wood, showing the intense nature of the fighting, but the overall offensive was called off shortly after that. Operation Michael had gained a lot of ground, but it had ground to a halt. By April 5 the Germans were exhausted and an effort to resume the offensive against the British failed.
The charge at Moreuil Wood.
The initial German advance had been significant, but equally significant is that the Germans had failed to take any of their objectives and by April 5 they were halted. The German advance was impressive, but far short of achieving a knockout blow. German and British losses were nearly equal at 250,000 men but the British were able to make up material shortages so rapidly that loss of material turned out to be relatively inconsequential. German manpower losses, however, were catastrophic as it had lost a significant number of elite troops in the effort, which it would not be able to replace.
Many of the German troops lost were Stoßtruppen
German Stoßtrup, Spring 1918. Trained in individual and small unit combat, this soldier is carrying a MP18 and a P08. Submachineguns were a brand new weapon at the time.
Stoßtruppen were a late war German innovation created to attempt to restore mobility to the battlefield. Highly trained light infantrymen, these "Storm Troops" were in some ways the first of their kind. Predecessors of units like the later American Rangers and other similar elite infantry units, they were trained to storm enemy positions and overwhelm them in violent rapidly moving assaults. They were equipped accordingly, carrying pistols, K98a's, and as seen above, submachineguns.
They were also a bit of a desperate effort on the part of the Germans to make up for the lack of cavalry, something which is evident but rarely discussed. Unable to take a concentrated enemy position by a mounted charge, the Germans had to resort to infantry, something that had proven to be a failure since 1914. They sought to overcome this through highly trained specialized infantry. It worked in part, but only in part. Stoßtruppen could penetrate. . . but they really couldn't advance. And by April 5, the Germans weren't advancing.
But they couldn't stop. To do so was to conceded an inevitable defeat. So, ground to a halt against the British though they were, they determined to renew the offensive elsewhere.
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