MARCH 1918, THE GERMAN SPRING OFFENSIVE
One hundred and seven years ago, on 21st March 1918, the first of the German Spring Offensives was launched. The intention was to break through British and French positions at Arras, northern France, and proceed north to south along the British lines.
With the entry of America into the war in April 1917, but not as yet deploying its full resources, Germany knew it had only a limited opportunity to defeat the Allied forces. 50 German divisions had been freed up after the Russian defeat, giving them at least a temporary advantage.
The first offensive, Operation Michael, began on 21st March, close to St Quentin. Fewer than 300,000 British troops were faced with the firepower of 750,000 Germans, including their elite storm troops. Foggy conditions put the defending Allied troops at a further disadvantage. One million shells were fired by the Germans in five hours. A British machine gunner said it was as if “the bowels of the earth had erupted, while beyond the ridge there was one long and continuous yellow flash.”
At the end of that first day of battle, which began at 4.40am, Britain suffered 17,000 casualties, and 21,000 men were taken prisoner.
Eighteen men commemorated on the Carillon Roll of Honour were amongst the fallen in the first few days of the Spring Offensive: men of all ages and from all backgrounds.
They included Lance Corporal John Edward Thompson of the 11th Leicesters, a 33-year-old father of eight from Thorpe Acre. His widow Hannah died later the same year, leaving seven surviving children to be cared for by relatives. Private Charles Baxter, 26, was a stretcher bearer with the 8th Leicesters. Lieutenant David ‘Sonnie’ Dewar of the Machine Gun Corps, was the son of the Reverend Dewar at Holy Trinity, Loughborough. He had two degrees from Cambridge University and intended to take holy orders and become a missionary. He was 24 when he was killed. His brother Lancelot (‘Jack’) was also killed in action, on 13th November 1916. 28-year-old Lieutenant Charles Lancaster was a former Loughborough Grammar School boy and solicitor’s clerk, serving with the 1st Leicesters. The body of Private George Ireland, 19, a labourer’s son, was never found. He is presumed to have been killed on 22nd March, and is one of the names on the enormous Pozières Memorial. George was one of a large Loughborough family, and his brother had been killed in 1915.
Operation Michael continued its bloody course until 24th March, culminating in a tank-on-tank battle, when Villers Bretonneux, near Amiens, was retaken by the Allies. By 26th March, 178,000 British men had been lost, along with 77,000 French and 240,000 German.
It was a very brief respite. Germany launched Operation Georgette, on 9th April. But the Spring Offensive was their final gamble; their exhausted troops were ultimately defeated on 8th August at Amiens and the scene was set for their eventual surrender and the Armistice on 11th November.
Soldiers move up at the Battle of St Quentin, March 1918. Courtesy of National Army Museum.
British guns going forward, March 1918. Courtesy of National Army Museum.
