The Third Battle of the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the

Chemin des Dames In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...

Ridge before the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alo ...

arrived completely in France. It was one of a series of offensives, known as the ''Kaiserschlacht'', launched by the Germans in the spring and summer of 1918.

Background

The massive surprise attack (named ''Blücher-Yorck'' after two Prussian generals of the Napoleonic Wars) lasted from 27 May until 6 June 1918 and was the first full-scale German offensive following the Lys Offensive in Flanders in April. The Germans held the Chemin des Dames Ridge from the

First Battle of the Aisne The First Battle of the Aisne (french: 1re Bataille de l'Aisne) was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army (led by Alexander von Kluck) and the Second Army (led by Karl von Bülow) as they retreated ...

in September 1914 to 1917, when General Mangin captured it during the Second Battle of the Aisne (in the Nivelle Offensive). Operation Blücher-Yorck was planned primarily by General

Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914 ...

, the First Quartermaster-General of the German Army, who was certain that success at the

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Paris. Ludendorff, who saw the British Expeditionary Force as the main threat, believed that this, in turn, would cause the Allies to move forces from Flanders to help defend the French capital, allowing the Germans to continue their planned Flanders offensive (''Hagen'') with greater ease. Thus, the Aisne drive was essentially a large diversionary attack. The defense of the Aisne area was in the hands of General

Denis Auguste Duchêne Denis Auguste Duchene (23 September 1862 - 9 June 1950) was a French World War I general. He was born on 23 September 1862 at Juzennecourt, Haute-Marne and died on 9 June 1950 at Bihorel, Seine-Inférieure. He was promoted General de Brigade ( ...

, 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

Ridge; they had been posted there to rest and refit after surviving the "Michael" battle.''

Battle

The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918 Q6659

On the morning of 27 May 1918, the Germans began a bombardment (''Feuerwalze'') of the Allied front lines with over 4,000

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, ...

pieces. The British suffered heavy losses, because Duchene was reluctant to abandon the

ridge, after it had been captured at such cost the previous year, and had ordered them to mass together in the front

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

, in defiance of instructions from the French Commander-in-Chief Henri-Philippe Petain. Huddled together, they made easy artillery targets. The bombardment was followed by a

poison gas Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perma ...

drop. Once the gas had lifted, the main infantry assault by 17 German ''Sturmtruppen'' divisions commenced, part of an Army Group nominally commanded by

Crown Prince Wilhelm Wilhelm, German Crown Prince, Crown Prince of Prussia (Friedrich Wilhelm Victor August Ernst; 6 May 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the eldest child of the last ''Kaiser'', the German Emperor, Wilhelm II, and his consort Augusta Victoria of Schles ...

, the eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Kaiser came to inspect the progress of the battle. He interviewed captured British Brigadier-General Hubert Rees (GOC 150th Brigade, part of 50th Division). The Kaiser was amused to learn that he was Welsh, the same nationality as Lloyd George. Taken completely by surprise and with their defences spread thin, the Allies could not stop the attack and the German army advanced through a gap in the Allied lines. Reaching the Aisne in under six hours, the Germans smashed through eight Allied divisions on a line between

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

and Soissons, pushing the Allies back to the river Vesle and gaining an extra 15 km of territory by nightfall. The rapid advance resulted in the capture of just over 50,000 Allied soldiers and over 800 guns by 30 May 1918, prompting Ludendorff to change the operational objective from merely drawing away the enemy forces from the right wing of the German Army to advancing the attack of the Seventh Army. This had never been the intention of the operation, and having come within of Paris on 3 June, the German armies were beset by numerous problems, including heavy casualties, a lack of reserves, fatigue and supply shortages. Ultimately, following many Allied counter-attacks, the German advance came to a halt three days later.

Aftermath

Despite penetrating Allied lines by approximately and coming closer to Paris than any time since 1914, the Germans were successfully halted by the Allies at the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nether ...

on 6 June 1918. By the battle's end, the Germans had suffered 130,000 casualties while the combined total of Allies casualties reached up to 127,000.Marix Evans, p.105 For his poor handling of the British and French troops, Duchene was sacked by French Commander-in-Chief

Philippe Petain Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count ...

and replaced as commander of the Sixth Army by

Jean Degoutte Jean Marie Joseph Degoutte (18 April 1866, Charnay, Rhône – 31 October 1938) was a French general active in the colonies and the First World War. Colonial career Degoutte joined the 31st Artillery Regiment on 7 March 1887 and then attended S ...

. The battle also marked one of the first instances where an appreciable numbers of American troops participated and had proven themselves in combat. Ludendorff, encouraged by the gains of ''Blücher-Yorck'', launched further offensives culminating in the Second Battle of the Marne.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

*Evans, M. M. (2004). Battles of World War I. ''Select Editions''. . *Hart, Peter (2008). ''1918: A Very British Victory'', Phoenix Books, London. *Marix Evans, Martin (2002) ''1918: The Year of Victories'', Arcturus Military History Series, London: Arcturus, *Ward, Alec (2008). ''A Young Man's War'', Medlar Press. {{Authority control 1918 in France Aisne III Aisne III Aisne III Aisne III Aisne III the Aisne the Aisne May 1918 events June 1918 events