1918: The year of triumphs [and defeat]

ghappy1000

Background on 1 January 1918 [to the German Spring Offensive]:
In 1918, Imperial Germany was suffering from the effects of war, but the army had one last opportunity of gaining a decisive victory that couldn't be squandered. General Erich Ludendorff of the Supreme Army Command was planning for the offensive even as early as 1 November 1917 [due to butterflies], although his plans would be later criticized as the only objective was to defeat British and French Armies after piercing holes at strategic points and lead the German soldiers to exploit the gaps. After all, despite his knowledge that that Germany might lose a war of attrition, he was reluctant to sacrifice German territorial gains on the Western and Eastern Fronts and this became a serious obstacle to German government negotiations for a peace settlement with the Entente.
Although the British Expeditionary Force's [less successful than reality] continuous offensives at the Somme, Arras, Passchendaele and Cambrai inflicted substantial casualties on the Germans, the troops were exhausted. Now, Russia had surrendered after the [earlier] October Bolshevik Revolution and turmoil was rampant there. Italy suffered a defeat at Caporetto and was incapable of recovering [effectively]. France had lost too many troops that most of the reserves in 1918 were too inexperienced, elderly, distant, unfit or young [for several] to fight, although defending trenches and better welfare might solve the issue. American help wasn't forthcoming and only several goods and loans could be transferred at most.

When the Spring Offensive began, Germany had approximately 200 divisions in the west, including isolated units [due to reduced casualties and less troops in the Ukraine]. 85 divisions faced the shorter British front [including reserves], which was slightly extended when the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George, discussed with the French at the Boulogne Conference. The "defence line" sectors that were swapped with British troops weren't prepared and heavy work was needed to make them useable. Throughout the winter of 1917–1918, the new British line was constructed in an arc of ruined villages around St Quentin with the help of small logistical and new units. As a result, there were isolated outposts, unoccupied gaps, regions of disputed territory and shell and mud induced waste land around the line. A new three-zone system of defence in depth was built to improve the line, but infantry working-parties did most of the work at a critical time. By March 1918, the redoubts in the battle zone were complete, but defences at the rear zone weren't adequately completed.

[The point of divergence is a better German loss ratio at Jutland with massive losses for the British, despite the heavy German casualties. Consider it as a significant German benefitting pyrrhic victory. Then, worse British and Russian performance for the rest of 1916 and 1917 keep Romania neutral, increase French casualties and reduce unrestricted submarine warfare that American intervention and Zimmermann are butterflied. A worse performance of Russia in 1917 results in German exploitation of the Russian defeat and leads to Estonia being entered, along with the Bolshevik Revolution set forward by several weeks due to a lack of troops defending Petrograd after being sent to the frontline.]

So far, here're the effective Entente powers [other actual Entente powers are too insignificant, too far away, colonies or had their intervention butterflied as a result of the Jutland pod].
Serbia, Russia [left in November 1917], France, Belgium, Britain and its empire, Montenegro [militarily ineffective since 1916], Italy [, San Marino] and Portugal. Greece might be probable.
[Despite Japanese potential, Japanese participation in Europe was navy focused. San Marino was too small. American and Romanian interventions are butterflied by the Jutland p.o.d. and so with Latin American states. China was in chaos and severed relations only in this scenario. Siamese military contribution, while helpful, was minimal.]
[Note that Japan in this scenario would be involved in naval matters and intervention in Russia and colonial affairs.]
 
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ghappy1000

Order of battle for the Spring Offensive

As of 21 March, Germany had the following distribution of [infantry] divisions on the Crown Prince Rupprecht sector of the Western Front. :
[Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_battle_for_the_Spring_Offensive]
[ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Michael ]
German and British divisional histories.
21 divisions under command of [Infantry] General Sixtus Von Arnim [as a result of 50,000 reduced casualties at Passchendaele] in the 4th Army.
15 divisions under command of [Infantry] General Ferdinand Von Quast in the 6th Army.
28 divisions under command of [Infantry] General Otto von Below in the 17th Army.
21 divisions under command of [cavalry] General Georg Von der Marwitz in the 2nd Army.
Army Group German Crown Prince had the following. :
28 divisions in the 18th Army [including the 3rd Infantry Division transferred from the east] under command of [Infantry] General Oskar Von Hutier.
11 divisions in the 7th Army under command of Generaloberst Max Von Boehn.
12 divisions each in the 1st and 3rd Armies [including an extra division transferred from the south, the 302nd from Macedonia], under the respective commands of [Infantry] General Fritz Von Below and Karl Von Einem.
[Other armies were irrelevant as to the initial offensives against the British and French or located too far south.]

[Note that more German troops could be taken from the Ukraine if possible.]

The Entente armies in the [initially] targeted sectors of the Western Front had the following divisions:
15 divisions in the 5th Army under General Sir Hubert Gough.
24 infantry and 3 cavalry divisions under General Sir Julian Byng in the British 3rd Army.
The British 2nd and 1st Armies [with the 4th effectively disbanded as a result of casualties at the Somme and Ypres.]
11 divisions from the French 3rd Army under General Georges Louis Humbert and 5 divisions under General Marie-Eugene Debeney.
['Regular divisions' refer to infantry divisions.]

Of the armies involved, the 17th would capture Arras and divert Entente attention. The 2nd Army would split a hole in the Entente lines, drive through previously devastated Somme battlefields and sever communications with the Entente by seizing Amiens if possible while the heavily lavished 18th Army would divert British attention and take St. Quentin to La Fe're. The 7th Army would cover the southern flank of the offensive from the French.
The Arras to St Quentin sector was the main sector of the attack and Von Hutier's 18th Army had 28 divisions to cut the British Expeditionary Force from the French and divert attention. Of the forty-five "Mobile" divisions officially allocated to the offensive and mobile reserves, most were strengthened to maximum strength in manpower and equipment; excluding soldiers who were over 35 years old or unfit. Individual machine-gun, logistical and communication units were provided for each division involved and the supply and medical branches were re-equipped. The problem regarding supplying and mobile exploitation was a serious lack of horses and fodder and that couldn't be solved due to logistics and advanced weapons. The Mobile divisions were trained on principles based on "The Offensive in Trench Warfare" to take advantage of possible withdrawing during the winter when the new year began.
Due to a lack of infantry reserves other than those to be sacrificed in Haig's offensives, the number of battalions in an average division were reduced from 12 to 10 [as a result of the invasion threat and no transfers to Italy], justified by the German and French divisional organizations. As senior and more experienced regular, Territorial and first-line battalions had to be maintained, less experienced Territorial and New Army battalions had to be disbanded to permit transfers to the more experienced units and this, when combined with leaves, illness and battle casualties, heavily decimated even brigades and divisions in terms of numerical strength.
 
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ghappy1000

Operation Michael kicks off

On 21 March 1918, Operation Michael [the offensive's name] began with a quick and decisive artillery barrage on Entente positions. At 4:30 a.m., British soldiers at St. Quentin received news of the anticipated offensive when that barrage started shelling on them. Mortars, chemical weapons and smoke canisters landed on the frontlines while supplies, artillery, guns and counterattacks were disrupted by the artillery. In 5 hours, 3.6 million shells hit their designated targets over a region of 400 square kilometres in the war's biggest barrage against the British Fifth and Third Armies. Several shells even ended on the First Army frontline and French troops, contributing to deception operations. After damaging the front line heavily and severing communications with the rear heavily for the time being due to damage, the Germans advanced.
The 17th and 2nd Armies advanced. Although the 17th Army was stalled, its role was crucial in taking Arras or stopping reinforcements from reaching the gaps or towns endangered by the advance. The 18th Army obtained its objectives as a result of the diversion and fog caused by weather and gas, which reduced visibility at a critical time and risked the British abilities at repulsing, reconnaissance and getting planes into the sky. Without proper observation and detection, German soldiers penetrated the frontline and took British positions while cut telephone cables, misty views and disrupted radio and headquarter communication prevented soldiers other than reserves from arriving at the frontline that day.
Most of the area around St. Quentin and Essigny were in German hands by 15 00 hours. Although General Gough tried to contact his subordinates by telephone, communicating with them was impossible and 10,000 surprised troops were lost as prisoners. Without the Forward Zone, Crozat Canal was the next defence line, but the rate of advance made this sound unfeasible. It would be midnight before repairs to disrupted lines with headquarters were completed and transferring reserves was temporarily a matter of discretion. Any garrison or redoubt in the "Forward Zone" was destroyed as it was totally in German hands and several troops surrendered without fighting, while others fought to the last bullet and inflicted casualties, even if not quite.
Bullecourt was wrecked with the British 59th Division that was garrisoning the village. Tergnier to Seraucourt-Le-Grand were German by dinner time. The 36th Division lost 5 battalions of troops and effectively disbanded a brigade, with the remnants of another sent to cover the anticipated retreat. To obtain reinforcements, Gough had to retreat slowly in the face of the surprising offensive, the first in the west of battlefield motion since 1914. Counterattacks, relief attempts and heavy German casualties [about 40,000 that day] were hoped by the isolated garrisons, redoubts and units. The good thing was the safety of Arras thanks to the holding of the Flesqueres Salient.

The next day [22 March] was a day of minor actions and surrenders to advancing Germans in the chaos caused by the fog; making division, brigade or battalion scale fighting impossible. Platoons, sections, squads and individuals made the difference by sacrificing themselves to the attackers. Flesqueres Salient had to be abandoned even with the costs gained and deterrence to Arras, but the separation and destruction of the British 5th Army was the biggest issue. Since a further retreat was required, it might be necessary to evacuate it within 12 hours, but several shell hits delayed communications regarding the issue. French troops had to reinforce the southern flank and contact with isolated parties was lost. The Manchester Regiment lost heavily while defending its namesake hill. General Ivor Maxse held the canal sector, but by nightfall, it was outflanked and he retreated with his troops to the Somme, losing heavily in the process. Bridges over canals were wrecked to deny usage to the enemy. Sommette-Eaucourt was the new anchor for the defensive line, but the canal had to be crossed and the bridges wrecked at Dury.
At Jussy, the canal supporting the defence was crossed on the morning of 23 March, leading to further chaos for the 14th Division. The 54th Brigade was outflanked and destroyed over a few hours. As the canal was crossed, Aubigny, Brouchy, Cugny and Eaucourt were captured. Lieutenant Alfred Herring and his units surrendered after a shell hit him and threw him wounded. In just a few hours of defence, the 54th Brigade was surrounded and wiped out, followed by the wrecking of the parent unit, the British 14th Division, that day. Hertfordshire Regiment was lost that day as well and 2 brigades of the 115th-120th Brigade series were annihilated, with another retreating in chaos. Now, the Bapaume-Peronne-Ham sector was targeted and troops were sacrificed in taking and holding it by the end of the day, thanks to a directive from Ludendorff. However, transportation difficulties and tiredness resulted from the advances and artillery, supplies and horses were unable to catch up with the troops. The 17th Army was to divert British attention northwards while the 18th Army would threaten Paris and French reinforcements. German 2nd Army would have Amiens, its railway and the St. Quentin Canal.

On 24 March, identifying the frontline was complicated as divisional remnants were scattered and destroyed in isolation. Logistical issues compounded the Germans and British and several troops were caught in enemy or French lines. Brigadier General Sir James E. Edmonds wrote in the 5th Army section of the book Military Operations in France and Belgium 1918 for the 5th Army's condition. :
After three days of battle, with each night spent on the march or occupied in the sorting out and reorganization of units, the troops – Germans as well as British – were tired almost to the limits of endurance. The physical and mental strain of the struggle against overwhelming odds, the heavy losses, the sinister rumors which were rife, all contributed to depress morale.
Click to expand...
The 109th Brigade's counterattack at Golancourt was disrupted by the German advance across the Somme River and it was wrecked. The British 18th Division lost a battalion and Callilouel. By the end of the day, the Somme was crossed and French troops retreated in panic, further disrupting the defence of the Somme. The river notorious for the 1916 slaughter was totally secured by the Germans due to outflanking. To support the British 5th Army, the British 3rd Army retreated further. Also, piecemeal and exhausted units were destroyed while covering the retreat.
 
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ghappy1000

Bapaume to Amiens [After Crossing the Somme]

Bapaume was evacuated after heavy shelling and lack of troops by the evening of 24 March and occupied by the Germans as a base for supper, rest and continuing the offensive. Most of the trenches were too shallow or had obsolete defences and they were overcome as anticipated. There were many small, but vulnerable gaps that would be exploited and cause trouble to the British defenders. Due to hunger and lack of sleep, British defenders weren't capable of mounting a proper defence, although the Germans longed for supplies and rest after looting major supply dumps. Transportation difficulties that manifested themselves earlier became serious as supplies had to transverse wasteland caused by the Somme Battle and subsequent retreat. German troops suddenly feasted themselves on the supplies captured that they nearly forgot their original aims. Despite the expected demoralization from the loot, envy and health problems, German soldiers were reprimanded severely in case they went out of control. Reinforcements were moving to Amiens, but railway issues and loss of communication with headquarters made their presence [nearly] ineffective. Field Marshal 'Butcher' Haig acknowledged the severity of the rout, but was forced to call for British and French reinforcements to prevent a separation. The attack cut the boundary between the British and French Armies. Amiens, Abbeville and the railways in between the frontline would be German or wrecked without their help.

Le Transloy and Combles were taken by 25 March and the risk to Paris, which was now bombarded by heavy German guns, was too much for General Petain, the 'Hero of Verdun', to bare. An Allied conference was considered in anticipation of debates or further retreat from the front. Champagne might be the site for the new German offensive and Beauvais would be the new headquarters for the French Army, complicating communication with troops and bringing them away from the Channel Ports and railroads. Haig rushed with the intention of convincing Petain to change his mind after informing General Byng to maintain hold of the frontline.

Reports and diaries from different brigades and divisions were contradictory that day; some even stating repulsing of the German attacks in the confusion while others mentioned defeat. Orders to take up new positions were followed up by retreats after German shelling, demoralisation or confused reports and supplies were lost in the confusion other than isolated dumps, carriages and reserves. The massive traffic congestion caused heavier delays in retreating and those soldiers left behind were captured, with the majority being supply, recent or inexperienced non and 3rd class or worse combat units. At 8:00 a.m. on the 25th, the Germans surprised the 54th Brigade's isolated remnants and French soldiers who were waking up or having breakfast, resulting in a further retreat and endangering the flank. At Mont Du Grandu, artillery and machine guns opened fire on advancing Germans and retreating Entente soldiers and the latter retreated to the high ground around the French mountain.
Remnants of the British 36th Division retreated to Avricourt in the hope of constructing new defence positions there. The rapid advance and retreat clogged the roads and retreating civilians, supplies and weak combat units affected British defence, decisions and movements. The Germans passed through Libermont before crossing the Canal du Nord and several regiments were wrecked beyond recognition, even with a short respite given to several units and small-scale local successes. To wreck German targets and attacks in support of the defence, British planes and cavalry were sacrificed in counterattacks and rear guard actions. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Henry Wilson, ordered all [full-scale] generals and marshals to meet at the Doullens Conference and discuss planning for the defence of Amiens, which required an entire army.

At the Doullens Conference, which lasted over the joint breakfast of important Entente presidents, ministers, marshals and generals on 26 March, it was decided to defend Amiens and co-operate in the hope of halting the offensive. This was at the cost of Paris, or more likely, Ypres. As a result of overconfidence, Ludendorff demanded all three of his armies to achieve ambitious targets, including the simultaneous capture of Amiens and a diversionary offensive towards Compiegne and Montdidier would fell on 27 March. The 17th and 2nd German Armies would assist the advancing Germans' flanks. However, mobile 'Whippet' tanks covered gaps in the frontline for the day until the threat to the southwest stopped any hope of resisting the German offensive. The Chuignes-Foucacourt-Manotte Road was approached by German soldiers that day. The XVII Corps was to support the British 5th Army and avert its destruction. Bouchoir and Guebigny were defended by the British 20th Division, overextended by the frontline it had to defend and casualties received.

By 27 March, the town of Albert, devastated by the previous Somme battle, was abandoned after a hard fight for the town. After several hours, the town was evacuated when the positions held were destroyed. The high ground was shelled incessantly and Amiens was vulnerable to the invader by 31 March. As a result of feints in Belgium, the Australians weren't coming to save the city. Bray and Roseires towns were abandoned the day after Albert fell. The Germans then looted the supplies of the captured towns. Montdidier and several railways fell during this period of crisis to Entente communications. The new defence line stretched from Mourcourt-Foucacourt-Lamotte, where a tenacious British defence saved the situation.
 
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ghappy1000

Critical times [Arras and Amiens under threat]

Arras was attacked by the 17th Army and the offensive was repulsed with heavy losses. With the delay in getting the Australians ready due to railroad damage and deceptions, Amiens would be ripe fruit for the Germans with supplies providing nutrients to them, even when tired and overconfident. The same day, General Gough was replaced by Rawlinson and demoted after the defeat, when Arras was at risk of falling. However, there were too few troops to hold the city, but the tracks and supplies passing through Amiens were more critical.
Due to the British bastion of Vilmy Ridge, the British held the German attacks up with heavy cost, but they were at risk of being outflanked as troops were sent south. Why Arras was poorly provisioned would be a debate, but the city fell after a few days, on 1 April. Nevertheless, the northern part of the German offensive was less successful than the south in terms of gains or enemy casualties. Superior British defences and ruins of the former Somme and Arras battlefields and buildings paid their worth in defending the frontier. Lamotte to Ignaucourt fell into German possession, securing the flanks from British counterattacks.

After the city of Arras was lost, machine gun fire landed on railroads and reinforcements to disrupt Entente operations and a recapture of the city. To the south, Von Hutier launched a small diversion towards Champagne before proceeding to capture Amiens. The city was approached through Bois De Haggard and Villers-Bretonneux. During the battle for the city, Hamel and Hangard Wood fell into German control. Debeny also fell with several thousand French casualties. Villers-Bretonneux fell on 1 April and with it, artillery started shelling the railroads. French counterattacks failed to save the city, but reinforcements saved the city through a flanking manueuver. After heavy losses, the offensive was called off on 7 April, with many losses to the British and Germans.
Conclusion of Operation Michael
Overall, up to 3,100 square kilometres of France were captured, along with 70km of territory, but only Arras was captured of the strategic objectives. Amiens was devastated with several tracks of rail, but the losses of Entente troops were the biggest problems. The Germans suffered approximately 225,000 losses, mostly in elite storm troopers, while the British, Commonwealth and French lost 275,000. Over 80,000 prisoners fell into German hands along with 1,200 artillery pieces, 2,200 guns and 250 tanks. However, transporting supplies and defending the captured ground was difficult as most of it consisted of [virtual] wasteland and wilderness caused by the Somme battle and subsequent German retreat of early 1917. The initial German cheers when the offensive succeeded soon turned to disappointment as it was apparent that the offensive wasn't the decisive knock out blow to the British and Entente. Historian Marix Evans wrote in 2002 that the severity of the Allied retreat was not too decisive because of heavy losses and the increasing number of reinforcements that by 8 April, the BEF would have received 1,800 new guns, British machine-gun production was 8,000 per month and tank output 100 per month. After General Foch was appointed as Generalissimo at the Doullens Conference, unification of command in the Allied armies was established. The British official history recorded 190,758 casualties; the majority being taken prisoner [85,070], followed by wounded [59,101], killed in action [26,567] and missing or disarmed [20,020].
 
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ghappy1000

Battle of The Lys [Operation Georgette]

Ludendorff was convinced that the fall of Arras and shelling of Amiens and its surrounding railways would [temporarily] disrupt communications between the British and French Armies. Without the frequent supply of materials, the British could be defeated easily while the French could be forced into failed offensive actions.
The next targets of the Spring Offensive [now called Operation Georgette] were the blood-soaked province of Ypres, the rest of Belgium, the northern French Channel Ports and Hazebrouck. The plan of attack was to capture the territorial sector from Ypres to Bethune [40 km to the south] through the Lys River. The [weak] Belgian and 2nd British Armies held the Ypres sector while the 1st British Army covered the Channel coast and ports. Holding this sector of the Western Front was very crucial since the British Expeditionary Force's supplies went through the area. The front line defended ran from NNE to SSW and the Lys River which covered the front ran from the opposite direction, crossing Armentieres and the front defences somewhere in the middle of the river.
For this offensive, German 6th and 4th Armies attacked the sector with heavy numbers of stormtroopers. The defending British 1st Army was a weak force even with reinforcements from Flanders and included a corps of Portuguese, which were sent south to recapture Arras with the reserves. The Portuguese troops were weak, lacked ammunition, soldiers, officers and morale following the defeats of 1917 and March 1918. Now, the mission sent to them was punishing, with several troops deserting to the Germans. Valuable information was given to the Germans, who only had to contend themselves with destroying the British 1st Army and French troops before bottling the Entente troops to the north in the 'Flanders Pocket' and causing their surrender.

The offensive kicked off on 10 April 1918 and the British 55th Division was destroyed with any unlucky Portuguese unit staying back. After the losses, Estaires, which was bombarded since 8 April, became vulnerable to the Germans and fell. The Germans advanced for as much as 10 kilometres over the first day after breaking through 15 kilometres of front. On 11 April, Sixth Army attempted to assault westwards from Estaires but was repulsed for the day; pushing north to isolate the Second Army, it took Armentieres at night. By 13 April, the supply centre of Hazebrouck was vulnerable and taken after the capture of Merville, Nord. Australian troops were delayed by a simultaneous offensive against Ypres, which saw the capture of Messines and threatened to deprive the British of their previous 1917 gains. With the loss of Hazebrouck, a railway centre was loss and the transit of supplies was a critical issue. Hinges Ridge and Nieppe Forest fell into German hands and counterattack plans were disrupted.

Also on 10 April, the northern flank of Armentières was assaulted with five divisions, wrecking the British 19th Division. With several Second Army reserves sent south to aid the British First Army and the 19th Division, the Germans penetrated the front and captured up to 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) on a 6 kilometres (3.7 mile) line, including the town raided in preparation for the 'Third Ypres' battle, Messines. To the south, the British 25th Division retreated for about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles] after being surrounded. By 12 April, the British situation was desperate that Field Marshal Haig issued his "Backs To The Wall" proclamation to improve morale of the retreating troops. Bailleul, 12 km west of Armentieres, was captured on 14 April even with strengthening British resistance.
The defeat of the 1st and 2nd Armies and the risk to their existence was acknowledged by General Plumer, the commander of the Second Army, but even the wastelands of Passchendaele had to be abandoned despite the minimal value held. However, a diversionary offensive by German reserves and marines at Flanders prevented the abandoning of territory, enabling the offensive to capture Ypres and reduce morale. When the small pocket of troops in Flanders surrendered by 20 April, the damage was totally done. The Belgian Army complied with the Entente retreat from Ypres after the losses and abandoned several miles of its homeland.

To the south, between Armentieres and Ypres, the Kemmelberg Mountain was attacked on 18 April and lost by the British. German Sixth Army attacked southwards to exploit the gaps where its troops broke through towards Bethune, but they were repulsed. After assuming Supreme Command of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Foch decided to transfer several reserve troops to cover the gaps in between the British line. A French division was sent to relieve the defenders of the Kimmelberg, but the mountain fell to the Germans and a failed counterattack on the 25th resulted in the Germans gaining some more ground by the 29th, including the Scherpenberg peak to the north-west.

On 30 April, the offensive was called off. Hazebrouck and Ypres, Operation Georgette's objectives, were in German hands. Many French reinforcements arrived only during the last third of April and these were expanded in a failed counterattack on Hazebrouck. There were 135,000 Entente losses to 115,000 German losses, the latter mostly consisting of precious and hard to replace storm troopers. 150 Entente guns were lost in the offensive besides 40,000 French and 95,000 British.
 
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ghappy1000

Third Battle of the Aisne [Parisian Dreaming]

After the Michael and Georgette Offensives, the next offensive was a thrust towards the French capital city of Paris. The prestige and morale impact of gaining this city for Germany and French surrender was too heavy and after the defeats of 1918 on the British, losing Paris would be too much.
Operation Blucher-Yorck, named in the memory of 2 famous Prussian generals of the Napoleonic Wars, was launched with the objective of gaining the Chemin Des Dames Ridge, a defensive position surrounding Champagne and Compiegne that was seized by General Mangin during the failed Aisne portion of the Nivelle Offensive.
The offensive was the objective of General Ludendorff, who was convinced that after the depletion of reserves and Frenchmen to assist the British, Paris would be left vulnerable and fall to Germany, resulting in Entente surrender. The Germans were in a good position to capture Paris from the striking positions on the Aisne. The Aisne offensive was effectively a large scale diversion from the British front at Flanders, the Channel and the Somme as the British Expeditionary Force was still the main threat that had to be dealt at ease after Paris surrendered [hopefully with the French].
General Denis Auguste Duchene of the 6th [French] Army defended Compiegne while the British IX Corps under Lieutenant- General Alexander Hamilton-Gordon was sent there as refit and reserve with a Portuguese division [reinforced from Portugal in 1918]. The reserves soon found themselves defending the Chesmin Des Dames Ridge. On the other hand, the Germans had their 1st and 7th Armies. Then, 18 German 'Crown Prince Army Group' Storm-trooper Divisions followed and chased the retreating Entente troops.

4000 artillery pieces started bombarding the frontline for 3.5 hours on 27 May 1918 and the offensive began kicking. 1.5 hours were spent on the enemy logistics while 1 hour was spent shelling enemy artillery. When General Duchene ordered the British IX Corps to hold the Chemin Des Dames and counterattack, the British suffered heavy losses and 30,000 casualties were taken in organized trenches without acknowledging the French Army Commander-in-Chief's orders and new tactics since 'elastic defence' wasn't applied properly. Poison gas and shock contributed to the massive casualties taken. A captured British Brigadier-General, Hubert Rees, was interrogated after his capture in the Kaiser's presence and Kaiser Wilhelm ii was surprised by his Welsh nationality, which was similar to the present British Prime Minister. While irrelevant, it could be used for morale impacts and propaganda on Welsh and other British troops. Vauxallion, Winterberg and Villerberg were taken and so was the undestroyed bridge at Vauilly Sur Aisne. Fort Malmasion, the site of a failed 1917 offensive, was taken as well. Other towns and villages captured included Celles, Maizy, Pont Arzy, Bourg, Bazoches and Fismes.
As the defence lines were surprised and thinned by the second day, it was decided to advance through 40 kilometres of unoccupied frontline to force French surrender and occupy Paris. The Aisne was crossed in 6 hours, with Braisne and Fort Conde being captured that day. The positions, along with other towns captured by the German 7th and 18th Armies such as Attichy, Neuilly-Saint-Front, Ville-en-Tardenois, Manicamp and Pontoise, were defending the Oise and Vesle Rivers and counterattacked by the defending French divisions to no avail. On 29 May, the Villemontoire- Fere-en-Tardenois-Coulognes-Brouillet line was lost to the French.
Rheims and Soissons were lost on 1 June due to the larger front hole. In fact, the River Vesle was crossed with 15 kilometres of territory taken by 28 May. Over 56,000 prisoners and 850 guns were captured when the offensive stopped on 4 June for want of supplies on the northern banks of the Marne just 55 kilometres from Paris. The German armies were affected by various problems such as supply shortages, tiredness, lack of reserves and heavy casualties. After several failed counterattacks, the offensive petered out by 7 June. The French counterattacks, although as poorly conducted as the German attacks and offensive, were more effective in stopping the opposing offensive.

As mentioned, the Entente suffered 140,000 casualties [35,000 British 5,000 Portuguese and 100,000 French] while Germany lost 110,000; which was slightly better for Germany than the previous offensive. Duchene lost his command as a result of poor handling of the offensive and Entente troops when he met with Philippe Petain, the French Army's commander-in-chief. The initiative had to be maintained, however. Most of the losses were sustained early in the offensive, when troops were forced to maintain their positions by French Army Generals to prevent a German breakthrough to Paris.
 
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ghappy1000

Operation Gneisenau [Fight for a decisive victory to end the war]

After the Aisne Offensive petered out on 7 June, it was time for Ludendorff to consider launching another offensive. Despite the diversionary role of the offensive compared with the major offensive to be launched against Flanders, taking Paris and causing French surrender might be feasible. The error of over reinforcing the Aisne-Marne front at the expense of Flanders was an issue to be corrected by Germany, but so was the retention of Entente troops at the sector as the Entente didn't send too many troops to the 'diversionary' sector.
The offensive was supposed to draw further Entente reserves, to exploit the frontline chaos and gaps and to deprive the Entente any chance of striking back with its own counteroffensive. As before, Ludendorff faced the dilemma of having a longer stretch of captured territory that was more difficult to supply and defend caused by the salient formed during the attacks, decreasing reserves and possible Entente morale boosting when newly-gained territory was evacuated.

As a result, it was decided to assault Soissons, Noyon and Montdidier in an attempt to get the troops of Army Group Crown Prince into Paris through the forests or expand the German western salient to shorten the frontline and link up with the salient at Amiens. The starting day of Operation Gneisenau [the offensive's name] was to be on 9 June. As a result of the Aisne offensive [Blucher], it was suggested that the offensive be delayed until 9 June. Hutier complained over the period of 3-7 June that planning of the operation was too long and mattered too much about irrelevant details.

When the offensive began on 9 June, the French were prepared and had a deeply-filled defence line thanks to information from German prisoners, leading to the northern portion of the offensive being replaced by diversionary actions to pin down French Army units. OHL informed that the plans were ready on the day preceding. The railway line from Montdidier to Compiegne was lost on the first day. 22 German divisions attacked over the Matz River and made surprisingly impressive gains during the first few days, but a surprise counterattack by General Charles Mangin cost the Germans momentum, surprise and security, stopping the attacks on 14 June.

The quick and effective response might have saved Clemenceau, his government and country from surrender. The offensive was more of a raid and no divisions were transferred south as the German offensive role couldn't be identified. Losses were 45,000 Entente and 35,000 German soldiers. However, despite the slight improvement in Entente defence tactics, the changes were too minimal, such as leaving troops exposed to enemy artillery and delaying counterattacks and responsive shelling.

Addendum to post above:
By 29 May, after the lost of the previous defence line, Villers-Cottorets and the surrounding forest faced German penetration while the Ourcq River and Dormans were lost. Nouvron and Juvigny were also captured after shelling that night. The Passy-Grigny line had failed its defence mission, with the towns of Lartennes, Arcy, Grand Rozoy, Oulchy-le-Château and Villers-Cottorets captured across this makeshift defence. On 30 May, the suburbs of Rheims were entered by German soldiers and although French counterattacks threatened several brigades, stiff resistance and the German advance caused the attacks to fail as troops were diverted to defend Rheims, which was captured on 1 June. Then, various French counterattacks over the following days halted the German advance, but failed to retake Rheims.
 
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ghappy1000

Any more responses from you and Wiking?
And, which is the more logical option?
a] German victory in 1918?
b] Entente victory in 1919 or later?
 

ghappy1000

Italian Front [Part 1]

Battle of the Piave and crucial decision making
Introduction
In conjunction with the German Spring Offensive, Austria-Hungary's last [independent] offensive of WW1 was launched with the intention to knock Italy out of the war. Although a disaster in itself, the Italians would be vulnerable to the next offensive, especially if the Germans won the war.
General Luigi Cardona was dismissed after being held complicit for the Italian defeat and was replaced by Armando Diaz as chief of the Italian General Staff. Only 6 divisions were sent to the Italian Front as reinforcements for constructing the Piave's defences, but this was halved from the 12 divisions considered for transfer. Another British division left the Piave after stopping an Austro-Hungarian attack on Monte Grappa and was destroyed in the course of the German 1918 offensives.
The Austro-Hungarian Army underwent a change in command and General Arthur Arz Von Straufenberg became the Austro-Hungarian Army's Chief of Staff. His assistants were Field Marshals Conrad and Boroevic, who wanted to attack the Italian Army and inflict a decisive defeat on the enemy troops. Conrad wanted to attack across the Tyrolean Alps like his averted 1916 offensive [almost] 2 years previously while Boroevic suggested a counterattack against any Italian offensives. When faced with a choice, the latter preferred an offensive along the Piave River, being convinced that the offensive would be more decisive and easier without mountains, but crowds of newly conscripted troops waiting to be slaughtered replacing the formidable defences instead. Straufenberg himself was in favour of an attack to the front's westernmost 'vulnerable' position, the Giudicarie sector to Brescia followed by an encircling of Tyrolean or Piave troops and leading to a decisive Italian defeat. As Straufenburg and the emperor were unable to decide between these two strong personal attack options, they almost equally divided the army between them and only a small portion of the forces there were available for a diversionary action on the Giudicarie sector, reducing the frontline needed for the Italian Army to defend against Austria-Hungary.

During a February 1918 meeting between the Austro-Hungarian and German commanding chiefs-of-staff, it was decided to launch a major offensive against the Italians to divert reinforcements from the Mediterranean and non-European continents as a form of assistance for Germany's attacks. If the offensive succeeded, it would free up Austro-Hungarian troops; if it failed, it would divert Entente reinforcements. The offensive was modelled after Erich Ludendorff's 1918 offensives and the attackers were trained in the winter and spring of 1918 with their fresh German counterparts from conscription or the east. Unlike the previous attacks at Caporetto and Monte Grappa, which were defeated for want of supplies and exhaustion, the 1918 offensive was stretched across the frontline, with the heaviest [slightly more important] emphasis on the Piave and an encircling attempt through Brescia or the Tyrol as a diversion or assisting phrase. This was strengthened by the return and retraining of troops from the Eastern Front. A naval offensive against the Otranto barrage was to be launched in conjunction with the attacks and the Ottoman Navy's breakout, but after the mining of the Goeben and sinking of a cruiser, was abandoned.

Within the same period, the causes of the defeat at Caporetto were studied by Armando Diaz's staff and it was concluded that the major tactical errors responsible for it were the lack of mobility in Italian Army units as they were stuck in very tight defence schemes, the too centralized command and control system and the lack of Italian defensive depth; which left many soldiers struck at the frontline and vulnerable. The new plans prepared for the defensive battle led to the abolition of continuous entrenchment plans and in the development of a flexibly manouvrable defence system, which permitted even smaller units to move freely between previously recognized and identified strongpoints, independently consider retreat or counterattack and directly call the support of foreign troops, planes and the artillery. Moreover, a central reserve of 15 organized divisions with 6,000 trucks was prepared and readied to be sent when necessary.
[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Piave_River]

The battle itself
On 10 June 1918, diversionary assaults were launched against Mount Tonale and the Adriatic coast, with the main attack beginning 2 days afterwards. Italian artillery surprised the Austro-Hungarians as the barrage was launched before the offensive and gave impressions of an Italian attack against the Austro-Hungarian defence positions. After an hour, the Austro-Hungarians attacked and they were reassured that the Italians would be weakened heavily by diversionary assaults. Boroevic moved southwards with his army, gained a bridgehead and crossed the Piave while Italian soldiers suffered shock from the bombardments. Several of the troops surrendered and the defence positions along the river were lost in the chaos. Venice was threatened again as Italian troops retreated. However, the sinking of an Austro-Hungarian battleship [which was responsible for the coastal bombardments and diversions] restored morale and a counterattack was made by the Italian 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th Armies with the foreign reserves and remnants of the 3rd Army on 21 June after reaching the Brenta, saving Italy from possible surrender and defeat. The Austro-Hungarian retreat became a rout due to logistical and extension issues caused by the flooding of the Piave River and supplies lacking pace with the troops, but the Austro-Hungarian Army restored its positions on the Piave by 30 June. Armoured and 'shock' counterattacks contributed to the Austro-Hungarian decision to retreat. The 1st Italian offensive of 1918 failed after reaching the Piave for logistical and troop issues as well, but it was a massive victory for Italy nevertheless as an enemy offensive was defeated.

To the west, the offensive against the Asiago region succeeded initially, with the Monte Grappa region being taken as British and French troops ran helter-skelter in attempts to cover gaps in the frontline. The bombs, mist and nerve gas from heavy bombardments, planes, artillery and guns covered the Austro-Hungarians as they assaulted the British 48th Division. The Entente had superior gas masks to the Austrians, but the circumstances surrounding the offensive wreaked havoc on defensive operations to the extent some were never applied and captured by looting Hungarian stragglers. The terrain consisted of thick pine trees, which provided cover but hindered effective operational visibility. By 16 June, the Monte Grappa region was surrounded and lost in a few days despite losses to the Austrians. It was all for nothing as the Austrians couldn't avert their defeat. Emperor Karl, who had taken personal command of the offensive on 20 June, demanded a retreat after the Italian counterattack began. During the retreat, the Piave and Venice became battlegrounds between Italian sailors and attacking Austrians.

Overall, the Austro-Hungarian defeat was decisive, with 250,000 troops lost in action. Italy and its allies lost 180,000 troops and this, along with the reasons for the Austrian defeat and chaos were cited as a reason why Armando Diaz prohibited a counteroffensive after the carnage to exploit Austro-Hungarian vulnerability following several failed assaults on the newly constituted Piave line. The Austro-Hungarians couldn't attack anymore, but with the German victory in the west so imminent, help was on the way. In fact, a corps of troops was sent to France after the offensive. This was despite the insistence of General Foch. After the battle, Venice was damaged by shells while Asiago and the Piave were wrecked by the poignant carnage of debris, boats, bridges, corpses, shells, machine guns, building and position remains, soldiers abandoned as dead or captured and collapsing things. It was time for the next offensive to end the mess and Italy's war.
 
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ghappy1000

Naval Battle of the Adriatic [Mediterranean Jutland]

The 'Mediterranean Jutland' began on 8 June 1918 when the Austro-Hungarian Fleet was readied out for sail. The objectives were to support the Piave offensive and destroy the Otranto Barrage followed by a commerce raiding mission and possible amphibious attacks.
Counter [Rear] Admiral Miklos Horthy commanded the Austro-Hungarian Navy's Attack Squadron with battleship Szent Istvan as flagship, 2 Tegetthoff class battleships, 9 pre-dreadnoughts, 3 armoured cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 4 scouting cruisers, several torpedo boats and 23 destroyers.
Vice Admiral Alfred Koudelka commanded the remaining ships, which consisted of dreadnought Prinz Eugen, 2 or 3 coastal defence ships, a few obsolete cruisers, auxillary ships and the majority of shorter range torpedo craft. The majority of submarines and troopships were to follow Admirals Horthy and Koudelka respectively.

All the ships in Horthy's fleet left on the night of 8 June and the others were to follow by 9 June. On 10 June, a fleet of ships was sighted by Italian motor torpedo boats and Szent Istvan was torpedoed. Badly damaged, it was abandoned and scuttled. Prinz Eugen was recalled from the Piave assault force as soon as possible to divert Italian dreadnought attention and permit the decisive breakthrough. On 11 June, it bombarded Venice, Ancona and Ravenna, causing the decisive diversion of an Italian dreadnought division.

Entente trawlers at Otranto were shelled on by the night of 11 June and assistance was called from the Italian Navy at Brindisi. The Italians sortied with 3 dreadnoughts, 6 pre-dreadnoughts, 16 cruisers [6 armoured and 10 protected] and 30 destroyers. The remaining ships preyed on the Piave assault and diversionary raiding forces.

During the battle for the Adriatic, which was fought to the end, the Italians would lose 20 destroyers, 3 submarines, 12 cruisers, 5 pre-dreadnoughts and all 3 dreadnoughts involved. The Austro-Hungarians lost 2 dreadnoughts, 5 pre-dreadnoughts, 7 cruisers and 15 destroyers. Submarines claimed another 2 Italian destroyers and a cruiser. Due to busy commitments worldwide, the French Navy was unable to assist. [The p.o.d. being heavy destruction at Jutland for the Entente and its set chain of events.]
 
MrP

MrP

Banned
Tyr Anazasi said:
a) Without any US help the Entente is doomed.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about that. The German offensive, like Germany itself, is running on fumes. The critical shortages of vital supplies such as, well, food, are likely to result in a general collapse of the front if German forces keep this pace for any longer. On the home front, civilians are dying of starvation in their hundreds of thousands and food riots are becoming a frequent occurrence. As for Austria-Hungary, it is already falling apart in slow motion.

So, stalemate by mutual exhaustion? Possible. German victory? Not altogether impossible, but unlikely at such a late point.
 

Tyr Anazasi

Banned
No. France and Italy had to rely on British loans to keep the war machine running. But Britain itself had not much money left by spring 1917. And the USA did not allow loans, which were not secured. So either Britain can somehow get new loans by selling colonies or similar, which was out of question, or they can't pay it any longer. Thus the Entente powers would be in the ropes in 1918. IMO they would now have to surrender at last.
 

Richter von Manthofen

No US entry means Germany does not feel the pressure to act at all costs, so it might act more cautiously and better prepared.

NO loans will mean the Britain and France have to produce domestically just like the CPs had. Britain was largely dependent on imported foodstuff, so quantity and Quality of Food will decrease (and probably the will to fight will drop a bit) but overall the ability to fight will not be (severely) reduced.

No US troops will be felt probably more than anything else. Who holds the lines where tey are, fo attacks instead of them ?
 
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