15.5.3

The German Spring Offensive

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The German Spring Offensive

The Spring Offensive was seen as Germany's last chance to end the war before the USA could send too many troops to help the Allies.

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Reasons for the offensive

  • 21 March 1918 AD: Germany launched its Spring Offensive, ordered by General Ludendorff.
  • The German military command recognised that Germany could not win a war of attrition.
  • Germany was also convinced of success as it had brought 500,000 troops from the Russian Front.
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Tactics used in the offensive

  • The Spring Offensive targeted the places where the British and French troops were gathered together. Winning battles against both nations simultaneously would affect morale in both countries and in both their armies.
  • The Germans launched a huge attack, hoping to quickly destroy the Allied powers.
  • 3,000 shells were fired every minute in the first few hours.
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Result of the offensive

  • Although the launch started with great intensity, Germany could not move it's supplies and troops fast enough to sustain the attack.
  • By July, Germany had reached the River Marne but couldn't make a decisive move forward.
  • The Allied commander Ferdinand Foch launched a counterattack.
  • Germany had suffered a huge number of casualties and began to retreat.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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