German Spring Offensive 1918: Operation Michael and Germany's Last Gamble

The German Spring Offensive of 1918 (known in German as the Kaiserschlacht, "the Kaiser's Battle") was Germany's last major gamble to win World War 1: between 21 March and mid-July 1918 the German army launched five consecutive attacks on the Western Front, trying to break the British and French before the bulk of the American army arrived. The first and largest blow, Operation Michael, tore a hole tens of kilometres wide in the Allied line but never delivered a strategic victory. Below we look at how it unfolded, why it ran out of steam, and what it teaches in a strategy game.

Why Germany attacked in 1918

In spring 1918 Germany had a short window of opportunity. After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918) Russia left the war, and the German command could move roughly 50 divisions from the Eastern Front to the west. More on that peace in our article on the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. At the same time the United States had been at war since April 1917, and its army in France grew every month. General Erich Ludendorff knew that waiting meant losing, so a decisive blow had to fall in 1918. For the men behind it, see 8 commanders who changed the war.

The aim was simple: break the British line where it met the French near the Somme, cut the British off from the Channel ports and force the Entente to sue for peace.

Five operations, spring and summer 1918

The offensive was a series of separate blows, each with its own code name:

• Michael (21 March - 5 April) - the main attack on the Somme against the British Fifth Army;
• Georgette (9-29 April) - a strike in Flanders along the River Lys;
• Blücher-Yorck (27 May - 6 June) - a breakthrough on the Aisne that carried the Germans to the Marne;
• Gneisenau (9-13 June) - a supporting attack between Noyon and Montdidier;
• Marneschutz-Reims (15-18 July) - the last attempt, the Second Battle of the Marne.

How the Germans broke through: new tactics

The frontal assaults of 1915-1917, which died against machine guns (see trench warfare), gave way in 1918 to a three-part scheme.

Hurricane bombardment. Colonel Georg Bruchmüller designed a short but extremely dense barrage: instead of days of preparation that gave away the point of attack, a few hours of fire using different shell types, including gas. On 21 March more than 6,000 guns fired over a million shells in the first five hours. More on this weapon in WW1 artillery.

Stormtroopers. Small infantry detachments (Sturmtruppen) did not advance in a solid line. They infiltrated through gaps, bypassed strongpoints and drove deep, cutting communications and command posts. Strongpoints were left for the following wave.

Fog and surprise. On the morning of 21 March thick fog covered the Somme: British machine-gun posts could not see beyond a few dozen metres, and German assault groups reached them at close range.

What Operation Michael achieved

In the first week the Germans advanced roughly 65 km, a pace unseen on the Western Front, and took about 90,000 prisoners; the British Fifth Army all but collapsed. By comparison, in four months at the Somme in 1916 the Allies gained only a few kilometres.

The price was enormous: during Michael the Germans lost about 239,800 men, the British about 177,700 and the French about 77,000. Crucially, Germany lost its best stormtroopers, who could not be replaced quickly. On 26 March the Allies agreed at Doullens to unified command under French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, and Entente coordination improved sharply.

Why the offensive failed

The reasons are typical of any strategy:

• No clear strategic objective. Ludendorff shifted the direction of attack toward wherever there was success, spreading his forces instead of reinforcing one breakthrough;
• Logistics could not keep up. The infantry outran artillery and supply columns, the old Somme battlefield was a maze of shell craters, and the railways were far behind;
• Loss of the stormtroopers. The elite units burned out within a week and the rest of the army could not play the same role;
• Exhausted resources. The British naval blockade wore Germany down, and food and discipline declined;
• American arrival. By summer 1918 there were over a million American troops in France, and fresh divisions plugged the gaps.

In total the German army lost roughly 690,000 men over the spring operations and could not rebuild.

What came next

On 8 August 1918 British, Australian and Canadian forces attacked at Amiens with massed tanks. Ludendorff called it "the black day of the German Army". The Hundred Days began, a string of counter-offensives that ended with the armistice of 11 November. The role of the new armour is covered in WW1 tanks.

What a strategy game can learn from it

The Spring Offensive is a textbook grand strategy dilemma: tactical success without strategic result. Three lessons that apply in Frontkrieg too:

• Concentrate your blow. Spreading armies across several axes, as Ludendorff did, wins provinces but not the decisive victory; more in our offensive tactics guide;
• Watch your supply. A breakthrough cut off from its rear quickly loses its strength;
• Do not waste your elite. Your strongest armies are your most valuable resource.

Want to test these lessons in practice? Play Frontkrieg, a free real-time World War 1 strategy game with no pay-to-win, right in your browser. More history and game guides are on the blog.

FAQ

What was the German Spring Offensive of 1918? A series of five German offensive operations on the Western Front from 21 March to 18 July 1918, Germany's last attempt to win the war before American troops arrived in force.

Why was it called Operation Michael? German command gave operations code names from military tradition; the name Michael is usually linked to Archangel Michael, patron of the Germans. The operation aimed to smash the British Fifth Army on the Somme.

Why did the Spring Offensive fail? Germany could not turn tactical success into strategic victory: the troops outran their logistics, lost their elite stormtroopers, and the Entente created a unified command and received American reinforcements.

Why did Germany lose the war in 1918? After the offensive failed Germany ran out of men and materiel, and the Hundred Days counter-offensive, the blockade and a domestic crisis led to the armistice of 11 November 1918.

Further reading: German spring offensive on Wikipedia.