X-Nico

3 unusual facts about Spring Offensive


Spring Offensive

Journey's End, a play set during the early stages of the offensive

The French commander-in-chief, General Pétain, sent reinforcements to the sector too slowly in the opinion of the British commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Haig, and the British government.

Ulster Volunteers

Both of the remaining divisions suffered heavy casualties in July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and were largely wiped out in 1918 during the German Spring Offensive.


1st London Field Company Royal Engineers

By February 1918 the 6th Division was manning the Lagnicourt Sector and was there on 22 March when the Germans launched their Spring Offensive which drove the division back and caused 3,900 casualties out of its 5000 infantry.

Edward Puttick

On 21 March 1918, the Germans began their Spring Offensive and the New Zealand Division was rushed to plug a gap in the front near Colincamps.

Irish Home Rule movement

With the collapse of the allied front during the German Spring Offensive and Operation Michael, Britain had a serious manpower shortage and the Cabinet agreed on 5 April to enact Home Rule immediately linked in a "dual policy" of extending conscription to Ireland.

Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen

After helping prepare the army for the offensive, Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen was promoted to General der Artillerie and given command of the II Bavarian Army Corps, which he led from April 18, 1918 through the Spring Offensive and the defensive battles that followed to the war's end.

Military history of New Zealand in World War I

As the Germans launched their great Spring Offensive of 1918, the New Zealand Division was rushed to stem a breakthrough in the First Battle of the Somme, which threatened Amiens.

Third Battle of the Aisne

The defense of the Aisne area was in the hands of General Denis Auguste Duchêne, commander of the French Sixth Army; in addition, four divisions of the British IX Corps, led by Lieutenant-General Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon, held the Chemin des Dames Ridge; they had been posted there to rest and refit after surviving the "Michael" battle.


see also

Battle of the Aisne

Third Battle of the Aisne (27 May–6 June 1918), third phase (Operation Blücher) of the German Spring Offensive