The Ludendorff (Spring) Offensive: Why did it fail? Identify the reasons for the failure. Evaluate which reason is most important. Reach a supported judgement on the most important reason.

Starter: Why did the Ludendorff Offensive take place? What was happening in the Spring of 1918 that would lead to a big push by the Germans?

Starter: Why did the Ludendorff Offensive take place? What was happening in the Spring of 1918 that would lead to a big push by the Germans? Treaty of Brest Litovsk, 1917 – Russia pulled out of the war. This meant that the Germans could re-deploy troops to the Western Front. American troops were arriving to reinforce the British and French. The Germans saw this as an opportunity to break through before these troops were fully established.

What happened in the Spring Offensive? The Spring Offensive was started in March 1918. The Germans strengthened their forces on the Western Front with 500,000 troops who had previously fought in Russia. At first the Germans had considerable success; British troops were forced to retreat from Passchendaele to the Marne. The second major battle close to the River Marne took place during the summer of 1918. The German Army advanced over the Aisne in late May and reached the Marne on 5th June. The French Army was in poor shape and the Commander-in-Chief, Henri-Philippe Petain, knew that the British were busy dealing with the German offensive at Lys. Eventually Sir Douglas Haig agreed to send Petain four divisions and two divisions of the recently arrived US Army were also available. Over 85,000 American soldiers took part in the battle. The German attack on the Marne was launched by General Erich von Ludendorff on 15th July. The Germans failed to break through and General Ferdinand Foch was able to organise a counterattack. This included 24 divisions of the French Army, and soldiers from the United States, Britain and Italy. On 20th July the Germans began to withdraw. By the 3rd August they were back to where they were when they started the Spring Offensive in March. Allied casualties during the 2nd Battle of the Marne were heavy: French (95,000), British (13,000) and United States (12,000). It is estimated that the German Army suffered an estimated 168,000 casualties and and marked the last real attempt by the Central Powers to win the First World War.

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Why did it fail?

“We are going like Hell – on and on, day and night “We are going like Hell – on and on, day and night. Our baggage is somewhere in the rear and we don’t expect to see it again.” Captain Rudolf Binding.

Between March and July 1918, the Germans lost one million men.

By the end of March, 250,000 American troops had joined the conflict By the end of March, 250,000 American troops had joined the conflict. (However, the impact of the Americans was hindered by the fact that the American General Pershing would not allow his troops to be commanded by either French or British officers).

In particular, the German 18th Army had been spectacularly successful In particular, the German 18th Army had been spectacularly successful. It had advanced to Amiens and threatened the city. However, rather than use the 18th Army to assist other units moving forward so that the Germans could consolidate their advance, Luderndorff ordered the 18th Army to advance on Amiens as he believed the fall of the city would be a devastating blow to the Allies. In this Luderndorff was correct. Amiens was the major rail centre for the Allies in the region and its loss would have been a disaster. However, many believed that the 18th Army could have been more positively used if it had supported other units of the German army as they advanced and then moved on to Amiens. The 18th Army found that it ran out of supplies as it advanced. Horses, that should have been used in the advance on Amiens, were killed for their meat. Therefore, the mobility of the 18th Army was reduced and the loss of such transport was to be vital.

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