German Spring Offensive (1918)

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The German Spring Offensive of 1918 was a major series of German attacks on the Western Front during World War I, launched in a final attempt to break Allied lines before American forces could fully deploy.

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Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Western Front operation
World War I campaign
military offensive
alsoKnownAs German Spring Offensive (1918)
surface form: German Spring Offensive

Kaiserschlacht
German Spring Offensive (1918)
surface form: Ludendorff Offensive
cause need to win before American manpower arrived in full strength
transfer of German divisions from Eastern Front after Russian withdrawal
commander Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia NERFINISHED
Erich Ludendorff NERFINISHED
Paul von Hindenburg
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
surface form: Rupprecht of Bavaria
componentOperation Operation Blücher–Yorck
Operation Georgette
Operation Blücher–Yorck
surface form: Operation Gneisenau

Operation Marne-Rheims
Operation Michael
conflict World War I
country German Empire
effect heavy German casualties
overextension of German supply lines
weakening of German ability to resist later Allied offensives
endDate 1918-07-18
followedBy Hundred Days Offensive
surface form: Allied Hundred Days Offensive
location Flanders NERFINISHED
Western Front
northern France NERFINISHED
militaryTactic short intense artillery bombardments
stormtroop infiltration tactics
use of poison gas shells
notableBattle Battle of Saint-Quentin (1918)
Battle of the Lys (1918)
First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux
Second Battle of the Marne
Third Battle of the Aisne
surface form: Third Battle of the Aisne (1918)
opponent Belgium
British Empire
Dominion forces
France
United Kingdom NERFINISHED
United States NERFINISHED
partOf final phase of World War I on the Western Front
precededBy trench stalemate on the Western Front
result exhaustion of German reserves
failure to achieve decisive breakthrough
strategic Allied victory
tactical German gains
startDate 1918-03-21
strategicObjective defeat the Allied armies on the Western Front before full American deployment
force a decisive victory for the German Empire
timePeriod 1918

Referenced by (16)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

German Spring Offensive (1918) alsoKnownAs German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: Ludendorff Offensive
German Spring Offensive (1918) alsoKnownAs German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German Spring Offensive
Erich Ludendorff conflict German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German Spring Offensive
German Supreme Command directedOperation German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: Spring Offensive of 1918
French First Army engagement German Spring Offensive (1918)
Battle of Passchendaele followedBy German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German spring offensive (1918)
Cambrai 1917 followedBy German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German Spring Offensive
European theatre of World War I hasPart German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: Spring Offensive of 1918
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk influenced German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German spring offensive of 1918
Imperial German Army notableBattle German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: Spring Offensive of 1918
Western Front notableBattle German Spring Offensive (1918)
subject surface form: Western Front (World War I)
this entity surface form: Spring Offensive (1918)
Erich Ludendorff notableWork German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: Ludendorff Offensive
Battle of Belleau Wood partOf German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German spring offensive of 1918
Second Battle of the Marne partOf German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German spring offensive
Battle of Soissons precededBy German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German Spring Offensive of 1918
Hundred Days Offensive precededBy German Spring Offensive (1918)
this entity surface form: German Spring Offensive