German Spring Offensive (Kaiserschlacht)

On 21 March 1918, the Germans launched a massive offensive in the Somme, between Arras and La Fère, against the British Third and Fifth Armies; included in the latter was the 36th (Ulster) Division. The German High Command had moved some fifty divisions from the eastern front, where the Russians had surrendered, to confront what they perceived as a weakened British Expeditionary Force (BEF).

The main aim was to outflank the BEF in Flanders, attack its lines of communication, cut off its supply lines from the channel ports, defeat the British and force a French armistice; if successful, the Kaiser would defeat the Allies and win the war. Although the USA had declared war in April 1917, they had not fully arrived on the Western Front. The German imperative was to launch their spring offensive before the well-trained American Expeditionary Force was committed in strength.

There were four German offensives that were launched as part of the overall Kaiserschlacht offensive beginning 21 March 1918. These were:

Op MICHAEL
Op GEORGETTE(subsidiary to Michael and designed to divert Allied forces from the main offensive effort on the Somme)
Op BLÜCHER-YORCK
Op GINEISENAU