As all the other divisions were British, it made sense to redesignate it as a British corps. With the creation of the Australian Corps, the only ‘Anzac’ division left in II Anzac Corps was the New Zealand Division. In January 1918, II Anzac Corps was renamed XXII Corps to reflect the changed composition of the force. Sent forward to Hédauville in the Ancre Valley to fill an apparent 7-km gap between Hamel and Hébuterne, they moved into position just as the Germans mounted a new drive towards Doullens. Attached to General Sir Julian Byng’s Third Army, the New Zealanders became part of Sir George Harper’s IV Corps, with which they would serve for the rest of the war. The New Zealand Division, recovering in northern France after a difficult winter in the Ypres Salient, was among forces rushed south to the Somme. New Zealand troops in the front line near La Signy Farm, April 1918 (ATL, 1/2-013092-G) The American authorities also placed several of their divisions under temporary British and French command, and two French armies moved forward to help defend the Somme. They agreed to give the French General Ferdinand Foch overall command. Second, the crisis galvanised the Allies to better coordinate their effort. Amiens, a vital communications hub for the British effort, did not at first attract Ludendorff’s attention. He hoped to split the British and French, but his troops were driving into an area that had no targets of vital significance to the Allies. First, Ludendorff was drawn away from his main thrust to the sector of what had been a supporting army. The German breakthrough had two important effects. The Fifth Army fell back in some disarray, although without collapsing, forcing withdrawals further north. But further south, against the weaker British Fifth Army, the Germans succeeded in dislocating the British front. When the assault began on 21 March, the Third Army’s resolute defence blunted the thrust at Arras.
These troops, drawn from various units, formed assault divisions, leaving the rest as less capable ‘trench’ divisions, which would follow up. Then specially trained storm troops would advance, aiming to penetrate the battered defences.
The British lines would be subject to a hurricane bombardment by a huge mass of guns brought up in secret. In Operation Michael, 60 German divisions from three armies would attack along an 80-km front between St Quentin and Arras. As would become apparent, such an approach was self-defeating because maintaining momentum depended upon logistic support of the advancing forces, which could only be ensured by careful preparations in advance. But his general intention was to swing north and roll up the British front. Essentially an opportunist, Ludendorff envisaged breaking through the Allied lines in the Somme area, after which he would determine the next move in light of the new situation created. General Erich Ludendorff was the driving force in the preparation of this onslaught, despite his position subordinate to the nominal commander, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg. The German spring offensive, which began on 21 March 1918, created the biggest crisis of the war for the Allies. German 1918 spring offensives map (Geographx)
#Battle of verdun summary full
With its forces greatly bolstered by this influx, the German high command launched a massive offensive with the goal of ending the war before the full might of the United States (which had entered the war in April 1917) could be brought to bear against Germany. The Germans were able to transfer nearly 50 divisions to the Western Front. The collapse of Russia’s resistance during 1917 and the Russian decision, following the Bolshevik revolution in November, to seek an armistice dramatically altered the strategic situation. New Zealand units played their part in the Allies’ final push for victory, helping to breach the main German defence system – the Hindenburg Line – and capturing the walled town of Le Quesnoy during the last weeks of the war.Īt the beginning of 1918, events had seemed to be turning the war in Germany’s favour.
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