Editing German spring offensive (section)

{{Short description|WWI military offensive along the Western Front}}
{{About|the World War I German offensive of 1918||Spring offensive (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = German spring offensive
| partof            = the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] of [[World War I]]
| campaign          = 
| image             = Western front 1918 german.jpg
| image_size        = 300
| caption           = 
| date              = 21 March – 18 July 1918
| place             = Northern [[French Third Republic|France]]; [[West Flanders]], [[Belgium]]
| coordinates       = {{Coord|50|00|10|N|02|39|10|E|type:event_region:FR|display=inline,title}}
| result            = See [[#Aftermath|Aftermath]]
| combatant1        = {{flagcountry|German Empire}}
| combatant2        = {{ubl|{{flagcountry|French Third Republic}}|{{collapsible list|bullets=y|title={{nobold|{{flag|British Empire}} }}
   |{{*}}{{flagcountry|size=21px|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} 
   |{{*}}{{flagcountry|size=21px|Australia}}
   |{{*}}{{flagcountry|size=21px|Dominion of New Zealand}}
   |{{*}}{{flagcountry|size=21px|Canada|1907}}
   |{{*}}{{flagcountry|size=21px|Union of South Africa|1912}}
   |{{*}}{{flagcountry|size=21px|Dominion of Newfoundland}}}}
|{{flag|United States|1912}}|{{flagcountry|First Portuguese Republic}}|{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}|{{flagicon|Kingdom of Belgium}} [[Belgian government at Sainte-Adresse|Belgium]]}}

| commander1        = {{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Paul von Hindenburg]]{{efn|Chief of the German Great General Staff}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Erich Ludendorff]]{{efn|First Quartermaster General }}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Wilhelm, German Crown Prince|Crown Prince Wilhelm]]{{efn|Commander of [[Army Group German Crown Prince (German Empire)|Army Group German Crown Prince]]}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Max von Gallwitz]]{{efn|Commander of [[Army Group Gallwitz (German Empire)|Army Group Gallwitz]]}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria|Rupprecht of Bavaria]]{{efn|Commander of [[Army Group Rupprecht of Bavaria]]}}<br />{{flagicon|German Empire}} [[Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg|Albrecht of Württemberg]]{{efn|Commander of [[Army Group Duke Albrecht (German Empire)|Army Group Duke Albrecht]]}}
| commander2  = {{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Ferdinand Foch]]{{efn|Allied Commander}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Philippe Pétain]]{{efn|Chief of Staff of the French Army}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Émile Fayolle]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Reserve}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}}  [[Louis Franchet d'Esperey|Louis d'Esperey]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group North}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Paul Maistre]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Centre}}<br />{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} [[Noël Édouard, vicomte de Curières de Castelnau|Noël Castelnau]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group East}}<br />{{flagicon|UKGBI}} [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Douglas Haig]]{{efn|Commander of BEF}}<br />{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Albert I of Belgium|King Albert I]]{{efn|Commander of Army Group Flanders}}<!--Ple note that Dominion commanders answered to Haig-->
| strength1         = 
| strength2         = 
| casualties1       = {{flagicon|German Empire}} 688,341 casualties<ref>Churchill, "The World Crisis, Vol. 2", p.963. German casualties from "Reichsarchiv 1918"</ref>
| casualties2       = {{ubl|{{flagicon|French Third Republic}} 433,000<ref>Churchill, "The World Crisis, Vol. 2", p.963. French casualties from "Official Returns to the Chamber, March 29, 1922"</ref>|{{flagicon|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} 418,374<ref>Churchill, "The World Crisis, Vol. 2", p.963. British casualties from "Military Effort of the British Empire"</ref>|{{flagicon|First Portuguese Republic}} 7,000{{sfn|Edmonds|Davies|Maxwell-Hyslop|1995|pp=147–148, 168}}|{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} 5,000<ref name="Bligny">{{cite web|url=http://www.cndp.fr/crdp-reims/memoire/lieux/1GM_CA/cimetieres/italiens/bligny.htm|title=Le souvenir de la 1ère GM en Champagne-Ardenne – Le cimetière italien de Bligny présenté par Jean-Pierre Husson|website=www.cndp.fr|access-date=2 September 2018|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510090259/http://www.cndp.fr/crdp-reims/memoire/lieux/1GM_CA/cimetieres/italiens/bligny.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>|'''Total''': 863,374 casualties}}
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Western Front (World War I)}} 
{{Campaignbox Spring Offensive (World War I)}}
| territory         = German armies make gains along sections of the Western Front.
}}

The '''German spring offensive''', also known as '''''Kaiserschlacht''''' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the '''Ludendorff offensive''', was a series of [[German Empire|German]] attacks along the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] during the [[World War I|First World War]], beginning on 21 March 1918. Following [[American entry into World War I|American entry into the war]] in April 1917, the Germans decided that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] before the United States could ship soldiers across the Atlantic and fully deploy its resources. The [[Imperial German Army|German Army]] had gained a temporary advantage in numbers as nearly 50 [[Division (military)|division]]s had been freed by the Russian defeat and withdrawal from the war with the [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]].

There were four German offensives, codenamed ''[[Operation Michael|Michael]]'', ''[[Operation Georgette|Georgette]]'', ''Gneisenau'', and ''Blücher-Yorck''. ''Michael'' was the main attack, which was intended to break through the Allied lines, outflank the British forces (which held the front from the [[Somme River]] to the [[English Channel]]) and defeat the British Army. Once that was achieved, it was hoped that the French would seek [[armistice]] terms. The other offensives were subsidiary to ''Michael'' and were designed to divert Allied forces from the main offensive effort on the Somme. No clear objective was established before the start of the offensives and once the operations were underway, the targets of the attacks were constantly changed, depending on the tactical situation.

Once they began advancing, the Germans struggled to maintain the momentum, partly due to logistical issues. The fast-moving [[Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany)|stormtrooper]] units could not carry enough food and ammunition to sustain themselves for long, and the army could not move in supplies and reinforcements fast enough to assist them. The Allies concentrated their main forces in the essential areas (the approaches to the Channel Ports and the rail junction of [[Amiens]]). Strategically worthless ground, which had been devastated by years of conflict, was left lightly defended. Within a few weeks, the danger of a German breakthrough had passed, though related fighting continued until July.

The German Army made the deepest advances either side had made on the Western Front since 1914. They re-took much ground that they had lost in 1916–17 and took some ground that they had not yet controlled. Despite these apparent successes, they suffered heavy casualties in return for land that was of little strategic value and hard to defend. The offensive failed to deliver a blow that could save Germany from defeat, which has led some historians{{Who|date=December 2020}} to describe it as a [[Pyrrhic victory]]. In July 1918, the Allies regained their numerical advantage with the arrival of American troops. In August, they used this and improved tactics to launch a counteroffensive. The ensuing [[Hundred Days Offensive]] resulted in the Germans losing all of the ground that they had taken in the Spring Offensive, the collapse of the [[Hindenburg Line]], and the capitulation of [[German Empire|Germany]] that November.