#spring offensive

Mar 23 1918 #OTD During the Spring Offensive, war photographer Thomas Keith Aitken takes these photos of Mark IV Female tank with an unditching beams passing through Peronne. In the background is an abandoned Expeditionary Force Canteen and smoke from burning stores. IWM Q 10838, IWM Q 10832, IWM Q 10833

Colourized by Frederic Duriez

Notes from the 56th Division report of the German offensive as part of Operation Michael on 28/29 March 1918.

The Germans used about 20 tanks in their offensive, many of them captured British models.  Most were quickly knocked out by French artillery.

July 15 1918, Dormans--The long-delayed German offensive against Rheims finally began shortly after midnight on July 15.  The Germans knew that surprise would be key, but the long preparation time, the short summer nights, and deserters from an army tired of repeated offensives meant that the French had a decent idea of where the attack was to fall.  The Germans would strike on both sides of Rheims--striking across the Marne in the west and in Champagne in the east, hoping to cut off the city.  Its capture would greatly improve German logistics, would demoralize the French, and would hopefully draw off large numbers of reserves from Flanders, where Ludendorff wanted to strike next.

The Allies, aware the strike was coming, even down to the hour, launched their own preemptive barrage before the Germans did.  Many of the German gas attacks were ineffective due to the wind.  In Champagne, the French had learned well the lessons of the last few months, and kept only a token force near the front line.  The German bombardment thus missed the main French positions to the rear, and the Germans infantry took heavy casualties advancing over open ground.  By 11AM, the Germans realized their predicament, and halted their advance after failed costly attacks on the main French line.

To the west, the Germans had more success.  The French had hoped the Marne would serve as an effective natural barrier, but they were able to cross the river at night with relative ease, and the French and Italian defenders in the area bore the brunt of the German bombardment.  The Germans advanced four miles across the river, but the Allies had kept adequate reserves in the area to contain them.  Among these were elements of the US 3rd Division, which held its position and even counterattacked against a German force that outnumbered them three-to-one.  To this day, the 3rd Division (and especially its 38th Infantry Regiment) is nicknamed the “Rock of the Marne.”

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March 22, 1918 - Further German Advances as Spring Offensive Continues

Pictured - German troops drag supplies with them. The trench stalemate is ended and armies move again.

When March 21 ended 21,000 British prisoners and 100 miles of ground had been taken. It was the biggest breakthrough on the Western Front in years and made a mockery of previous Allied efforts in the Somme region. Whether an enveloping fog or their tactics deserved the credit, the Germans had ended the trench stalemate.

But the battle was only beginning. On the second day German forces continued to try and break through the British line. The British fought back with all they had. A number of desperate counter-attacks were made; in one 16 out of 25 attacking tanks were destroyed. Whole British brigades fought to the end, the South African Brigade, for example, would be totally overrun and captured that week. 

March 25 1918 During the Imperial German Spring Offensive, war photographer Thomas Keith Aitken takes these pictures. The Offensive was a final push by Imperial Germany in hopes of knocking out the Allies before the Americans could send its huge reserves of manpower to the Western Front. #OTD the Germans were crossing the Somme.

Colourized by Royston Leonard

IWM Q 10812 shows men of the French 22nd Div and British 20th Div (possibly 12th Bn, the Rifle Brigade) man a line of newly dug fox holes.

Colourized by DB Colour

IWM Q 10824 shows British wounded passing through the French and British outpost line, Roye

Colourized by Histoire de Couleurs

IWM Q 10809 During the Actions of the Somme Crossings. Men of the 20th British Division and the 22nd French Division in hastily dug rifle pits covering a road, Nesle sector.

The French are using a Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine gun

New-York Tribune May 19, 1918

The trench habit is hard to break. Even in this, the first open fighting since the Marne, the poilus have dug themselves into individual shelters, each man for himself. Here they met the first shock of the oncoming attack, defending the lines behind them in the face of almost certain death for themselves.

Apr 2 1918 Near Le Plessier, French official photographer takes this photo, IWM Q 78097, of French troops in rifle pits on the front line.