✦ History

German spring offensive

March 21 – July 18, 1918

Germany launched a series of major attacks on the Western Front to win the war before American troops arrived. The offensives gained much ground but exhausted the German army.

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Battles 3

March 21 – April 5, 1918
Operation Michael Operation Michael Erich Ludendorff, Hubert Gough, Ferdinand Foch
April 9–29, 1918
Battle of the Lys (1918) Battle of the Lys (1918) Manuel Gomes da Costa, Philippe Pétain, Albert I of Belgium
May 27 – June 6, 1918
Third Battle of the Aisne Third Battle of the Aisne Erich Ludendorff, Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Denis Auguste Duchêne

Key commanders

Central Powers 9

Erich Ludendorff military commander Ludwig von Falkenhausen military commander Friedrich Sixt von Armin military commander Ferdinand von Quast military commander Wilhelm, German Crown Prince military commander Paul von Hindenburg military commander Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg military commander Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria military commander Max von Gallwitz military commander

Allies 15

Hubert Gough military commander Ferdinand Foch military commander Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig military commander Manuel Gomes da Costa military commander Philippe Pétain military commander Albert I of Belgium military commander Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer military commander Arthur Currie military commander Henry Horne, 1st Baron Horne military commander Denis Auguste Duchêne military commander Alexander Hamilton-Gordon military commander Paul Maistre military commander Émile Fayolle military commander Édouard de Castelnau military commander Louis Franchet d'Espèrey military commander