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The Offensive took place over a period of throughout one hundred days , and four or five major battles are identifiable during this phase of the war. The first major operation of the Spring Offensive was Operation Michael. On 21 March 1918, the German Stormtroopers launched an attack against the British Fifth Army and against the right wing of the British Third Army. By the end of the first day, the British had suffered some 50,000 casualties , and the Germans had broken through at several points. The British Fifth Army after two days was in full retreat and the Third Army was also forced to withdraw from its positions as its commanders feared being surrounded by the Germans. The French dispatched several divisions to halt the German advance and they helped to slow and eventually to halt the German advance. The German attack had achieved real and substantive gains but it was not a decisive defeat for the British in particular, who regrouped and established a new line of defences.<ref> Middlebrook, Martin. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K16X9X2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01K16X9X2&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=d8d7858aa44b3dda4f8077a9b5521faf The Kaiser's Battle: 21 March 1918: The First Day of the German Spring Offensive]</i>. (Hammondsworth, Penguin. 1983), p. 111.</ref>

The British were forced to send their reserve units to support the British Third and Fifth Army. This shift left them very weak on their flanks, especially after two days was in full retreat and the sectors around the Channel Ports. The Portuguese Second Division Third Army was targeted also forced to withdraw from its positions as its commanders feared being surrounded by the Germans. The Portuguese were spread very thin French dispatched several divisions to halt the German advance, and they helped to slow and expected eventually to hold a very long linehalt the German advance. The Germans launched German attack had achieved real and substantive gains, but it was not a brutal artillery assault on their positions decisive defeat for the British in particular, who regrouped and the Portuguese Division fledestablished a new line of defenses.<ref> Middlebrook, Martin.<i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K16X9X2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01K16X9X2&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=d8d7858aa44b3dda4f8077a9b5521faf The Kaiser's Battle: 21 March 1918: The First Day of the German Spring Offensive]</i> Keegan. (Hammondsworth, Penguin. 1983), p. 347111.</ref>

The British were forced to send their reserve units to support the British Third and Fifth Armies. This shift left them very weak on their flanks, especially in the sectors around the Channel Ports. The Germans targeted the Portuguese Second Division. The Portuguese were spread very thin and expected to hold a very long line. The Germans launched a brutal artillery assault on their positions, and the Portuguese Division fled.<ref> Keegan, p. 347</ref>  The Stormtroopers soon entered the breach in the line and pushed several miles towards the Channel Port of Dunkirk. Fearing that they were being outflanked, the British Divisions withdrew and formed a new defensive line on the River Lys. It was feared that if this line did not hold , then the Germans could press forward and take the Channel Ports. Had the Germans succeeded this could have dealt a decisive blow to the Allied war effort. The French again sent reinforcements, but before they even arrived the Germans had come to a halt, as their supply lines became overextended.<ref>Middlebrook, p. 114</ref>.

The Germans then turned their attention to the area where the British and the French lines met. Ludendorff wanted the Stormtroopers to drive a wedge between the two armies. The Germans after a brief, but heavy bombardment, attacked several weakened British Divisions in and around Reims. They drove pushed them back many miles , and the Stormtroopers almost advanced to the Marne, causing people to flee from Paris.<ref> Gray, Randal, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1855321572/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1855321572&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4a3b9d3ca6a0b8c64b1bbbccf0575c62 Kaiserschlacht, 1918: The Final German Offensive]</i>, Osprey Campaign Series 11 (London: Osprey, 1991), p. 176</ref> Once again the German advance stalled and they were not able to push towards Paris. The Germans then immediately turned their attention to the French army and launched a surprise attack on French positions near Amiens. This was once again successful at least initially, but a French counterattack, supported by the Americans, halted the Germans in May 1918.<ref> Gray, p. 179</ref>

The Germans had so far had some real success. Ludendorff was aware that he needed to inflict a decisive defeat on the allies. They had already received more support from the Americans than expected , and this concerned the German High Command. They decided to try one last all-out assault in order to break the allies will to fight and bring them to the negotiating table. This attack was called by Ludendorff "the Peace Offensive" because they believed that if it succeeded , it would lead to a peaceful resolution of the war in Germany’s favor. The Germans attacked the French and the British in and around the River Marne in mid-July 1918, this battle is sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of the Marne.<ref> Keegan, p. 337</ref> The French had strongly fortified this sector in order to protect Paris. The Germans had lost many of their best men , and they were running low on supplies.

Moreover, they had lost the element of surprise , and a German prisoner had informed them of where and when, the attack would take place. This German assault, unlike the earlier attacks , did not yield any significant results and the French lines held. In fact, Ludendorff had to evacuate some divisions fearing they would be outflanked and this ended the German Spring Offensive.