Operation Michael

Operation Michael was Germany’s opening and largest operation of the 1918 Spring Offensive, launched against British forces on March 21. It sought to break through the Western Front and drive the British armies away from the French.

Hutier tactics: German infiltration methods that used brief artillery bombardments and specialized assault troops to penetrate enemy defenses. These tactics helped German troops bypass strongpoints during the initial advance.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: The 1918 peace treaty by which Soviet Russia left the First World War and ceded extensive territory to the Central Powers. It freed German divisions for transfer from the Eastern Front to France.
Battle of St Quentin: The opening battle of Operation Michael, fought in March 1918 along the British Fifth Army’s front. The German assault began here on March 21, breaking through several British defensive positions.
Hundred Days Offensive: The sustained series of Allied offensives on the Western Front from August to November 1918. The failure of Germany’s spring offensives left its armies vulnerable to the Allied advance.
Creeping barrage: An artillery barrage that moves forward in stages ahead of advancing infantry. German artillery used timed barrages to support the assault across British positions.
Erich Ludendorff: A German general who directed military strategy in the final years of the First World War. Ludendorff planned the 1918 offensives and chose the British sector for the main blow.
Battle of Bapaume: A phase of Operation Michael fought around Bapaume in late March 1918. German forces advanced beyond the Somme defenses and captured Bapaume during this phase.
German Spring Offensive: Germany’s 1918 attempt to defeat the Allies on the Western Front through a series of major attacks. Michael’s costly gains weakened German forces before the remaining offensives of the campaign.
Stormtrooper: A specialist infantry soldier trained to infiltrate enemy defenses and attack command posts, artillery, and other vulnerable points. Stormtroopers spearheaded attacks through gaps in the British line.
Kaiserschlacht: The German military effort in 1918 to defeat the Allies on the Western Front before American power became decisive. Operation Michael was the centerpiece of this attempt to secure victory.

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