Kaiserschlact

'Kaiserschlacht' - the first day of the German Spring Offensive: 21 March 1918

By the early hours of Thursday 21 March 1918 a thick mist had settled over much of the 50-mile front occupied by British Fifth and Third Armies. Facing the British, across an eerily calm no man’s land, lay the assault divisions of three German Armies, crowded in their jumping-off positions, poised to strike.

Around 4.40am the shrouded morning quietness was shattered by the cataclysmic roar of a vast artillery bombardment as thousands of German guns suddenly opened fire. For five hours high-explosive and gas-shells wreacked havoc on vital British command, communication centres and heavy gun positions far behind the front before the deluge switched to the beleaguered garrisons of the British outpost lines and forward defences. Even after sunrise, mist, smoke and thick swathes of fog cloaked many sectors of the battlefront and obstructed the defenders’ observation and obscured their SOS signals.

At 9.40am, following a further short intense barrage of the British forward lines the great mass of German infantry, led by elite storm troops raced forward. Hidden from British machine-guns by fog and smoke they quickly overran the shocked troops of the outpost lines and pressed on, picking their way round centres of resistance, seeking always to move forward. By late morning progress slowed as the attackers encountered stiffer fire of the British ‘redoubts’ and fortified positions of the ‘Battle Zone’. But the overwhelming numbers could not be held and from the south of Fifth Army’s front came alarming reports of serious German breakthroughs. The southern position worsened in the afternoon as it became clear that here the Fifth Army's Divisions (who were bearing the brunt of the attack) had suffered severe losses. By evening General Gough fearing the worst decided on a limited withdrawal during the night and issued orders to this effect just before 10pm.

NEXT

Campaign map  Army structure  Terminology