Original: Barian
In late 1917, the Allies had a meeting in Rapallo, Italy, where they discussed something simple— the formation of a "Supreme War Council" to coordinate U.S. and Italian forces that had just joined the war. In the end, however, such meetings are nothing more than a bickering meeting between politicians and military generals.
In the face of each other, the situation on the German side is not very optimistic.
Marshal Fuxi, commander-in-chief of the Allied forces
Although the Russians had withdrawn from the war, Germany could free up its hands to deal with the Allied forces, and they had transferred a large number of troops from the eastern front to the western front, and by the spring of 1918 the German army had surpassed the Allied forces numerically. A total of 156 Allied divisions were deployed on the front line, compared with 192 in Germany.
But Germany had been almost exhausted by this protracted war.
Ludendorff
In November 1917, at a meeting of the German Army Chiefs of Staff, the generals had noticed that they were no longer able to support themselves. But Ludendorff still wanted Germany to end the war with dignity, that is, to sign a more equal armistice. In order to make the coalition accept this agreement, and in order to increase its bargaining chips, a "decisive military victory" is urgently needed by Germany.
Thus, the "Battle of the Emperors" plan was released. Ludendorff used the Arras and Saint-Quentin regions as an entry point, located west of the protrusion formed by the German defensive line on the French battlefield, where the Allied defenses were weakest and the terrain was simpler.
Attacking from here, the coalition could easily be cut into several pieces. Ludendorff's wishful thinking played well.
On March 21, 1918, at dawn, the day was foggy and the best time to attack.
The Storm Commando, with squads as combat units, is more stealthy and more maneuverable than the Grand Army. From the very beginning of the offensive, the force tore through the coalition lines as the core of "infiltration tactics." Early in the campaign, the Storm Commandoes suffered the Coalition, and once a trench was infiltrated by the Commandos, their powerful melee fire would mercilessly sweep every corner.
After the trenches were infiltrated, the Allied soldiers became very passive
In the first phase of the campaign, "Michael", the German army relied on the "Storm Commando" to advance 60 kilometers in 6 days, which can be said to be a huge victory. Their terrifying fighting power sent panic to the Allied front, especially the camouflage on steel helmets and the flesh-stained sapper shovels, which became the biggest features of the commando.
The image of the German Storm Commando in the game "Battlefield 1"
In the four months since, Ludendorff has launched three more attacks. At Mondier, the Allies lost tens of thousands of men and 1,000 artillery pieces, and the Germans almost touched the fortresses on the outskirts of amiens. At the end of May, the Germans swept through the Aene region and advanced near the Marne.
The progress of the German army? Source: History of the First World War
For Germany, the "Battle of the Emperors" was a great tactical victory, with more than 300,000 British casualties and a large number of living forces annihilated.
However, Ludendorff made a fatal strategic mistake that led to the complete rout of the German army at the Battle of Amiens.
At the beginning of the "Battle of the Emperor", the German army quickly advanced to the vicinity of Amiens with the mobility of the commando, but because the offensive was too aggressive, the battle line was extended too long, and the logistical supply began to fail to keep up. Coupled with the fact that the various units were too far apart and lacked lethal penetration in the attack, the German defense line was like a sunken hill, which was very easy to be surrounded by the Coalition forces.