Operation Michael 1918
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 March 1918 – 5 April 1918 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1918 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Spring Offensive | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 49.8500, 3.2833 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
Operation Michael (German: Unternehmen Michael) was a major German military offensive during World War I that began the German spring offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to break through the Allied (Entente) lines and advance in a north-westerly direction to seize the Channel Ports, which supplied the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and to drive the BEF into the sea, all before the Americans could arrive in full numbers to turn the tide of the war. Two days later, General Erich Ludendorff, the chief of the German General Staff, adjusted his plan and pushed for an offensive due west, along the whole of the British front north of the River Somme. This was designed to first separate the French and British Armies before continuing with the original concept of pushing the BEF into the sea. The offensive ended at Villers-Bretonneux, to the east of the Allied communications centre at Amiens, where the Allies managed to halt the German advance; the German Army had suffered many casualties and was unable to maintain supplies to the advancing troops.
Much of the ground fought over was the wilderness left by the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Operation Michael (revision 1370693789), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of St. Quentin (1871) 1871 · 0 km
- Battle of St. Quentin (1557) 1557 · 0 km
- Battle of St Quentin Canal 1918 · 14 km
- Siege of Le Catelet (1595) 1595 · 17 km
- Battle of Épehy 1918 · 21 km
- Battle of Honnecourt 1642 · 22 km
Other battles of the Spring Offensive
All 3 battles of the Spring Offensive →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · World War I era battles