All,
As I started reading up on this interesting episode, I got entangled in some good questions.
In essence: What were the aims and could it have been achieved? How?
It comes across as though the additional 50+ divisions from Russia had to be used for something; hence Ludendorff started the planning of the attack.
If the aim was to paralyse BEF, the focus should have been further North? As it were, Ludendorff did press success and that was only achieved in the South against 5'th Army (Gough).
Haig apparantly focused on the essential area around Arras and Amiens and did not have problems giving up ground in the South.
Should Germany have kept themselves on the defensive? Could they even do that?
If they kept themselves on the defensive, what would their aims have been? a negotiated peace? But was that even possible (realistic) in March 1918 with the addition of the "russian" divisions and the militaristic attitude?
If the aim was to initiate an offensive to capture BEF (or at least severely maul BEF), could it even have been achieved? What would it have taken?
If the German forces got to the Channel, then what?
US forces were not arriving in any major strength prior to March 1918 so US might not have been a big factor.
Would France have buckled if BEF had got into serious trouble?
March 1918 might have been the last opportuntiy for Germany to take any initiative. But if so, wasn't it time to negotiate a peace after the failures?
Ivan