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==Background==
The German army was under the direction of General Erich Ludendorff, by this stage in the war, his old collaborator Field Marshall von Hindenburg was only nominally German Chief of Staff. He was the mastermind of the Spring offensive in 1918, which is often referred to as the ‘Ludendorff Offensive’<ref> Zabecki, D.T, The German 1918 Offensives: A Case Study of the Operational Level of War, (Taylor & Francis, London, 2005), p 56 </ref>. On the face of it Germany and the Central Powers are in a strong position in early 1918. After the Treaty of Brest-Livotosk, the Russians had withdrawn from the war and the Germans had secured new territory in the east. Romania had been defeated and Italy and Greece are no longer a threat. By 1918, it was clear that WW I would be decided on the western front <ref> Zabeck, p. 57</ref>. The Germans knew that after America had joined the war, that they would tip the balance in favour of the allies, in the long term. By early 1918, the Americans had already begun to make a difference on the western front and if they were allowed to build up their strength, further, then the allies, eventually could inflict a decisive defeat on Imperial Germany. Furthermore, as a result of the allied naval blockade, Germany was on the brink of starvation and there was great unrest in the cities and strikes had become very common <ref> Pitt, Barrie, 1918 The Last Act. Pen & Sword Military Classics. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 1962, p. 45</ref>. Ludendorff was in a race against time. Germany had to defeat Britain and France or they faced almost certain defeat, Ludendorff believed that they had only one last chance to strike a decisive blow against the allies before it was too late. Ludendorff was a realist and knew that the situation was grave for Germany <ref> Pitt, p. 47</ref>. After the Treaty of Brest-Livtosk the German Army could transfer some 50 divisions from the Eastern Front to the western front, in early 1918. Ludendorff would use these divisions in his last offensive and Germany’s last effort to win WW I <ref> Pitt, p. 13</ref>.
[[File: German Offensive 1.jpg|thumbnail|German troops taking an allied trench in 1918]]
The Germans first transported the fifty divisions by rail from the east to the western front. Ludendorff decided that the goal of the offensive would be to divided the British and the French armies. The British are mainly based in north of France, while the French army is located in the centre and east of France. The Germans wanted to drive a wedge between the British and the French. They intended after this to drive the British back to the Channel Ports, at the same time the Germans planned to seize the remaining ports in Belgium. It was hoped that by defeating the British that they would seek peace terms with Germany and that once their main ally had capitulated, the French would also seek to negotiate with Berlin. This would, in turn, persuade the Americans to also seek a negotiated settlement with the Germans. The Germans at this stage are well aware that it was almost impossible for them to achieve outright victory and that the best that they could hope for was some form of negotiated settlement <ref> Keegan, John The First World War (London, Pimlico, 1999), p. 345</ref>.
Key to the German strategy was the widespread use of Stormtrooper units and formations. These were highly mobile soldiers who would storm the allies’ trenches and then attack the read, disrupting supply lines and communications and especially destroying artillery. The Stormtroopers were the elite of the German army. The best men from German units are used to form these units and they receive special training and advanced weaponry<ref> Keegan, p. 346 </ref>. They were used to spearhead the German advance and they were expected to occupy key strategic positions very quickly. The speed of the Stormtroopers was expected to deliver victory on the western front. The Germans also used short, massive bombardments before the assaults, a tactic that had been previously used with great success on the eastern front.
==The Offensive==
The Offensive took place over a period of 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 regroup and established a new line of defences <ref> Middlebrook, Martin. The Kaiser's Battle: 21 March 1918: The First Day of the German Spring Offensive. (Hammondsworth, Penguin. 1983), p. 111</ref>.
