FROM JUNE 9 (9/6) TO JUNE 18 (18/6) THE GERMANS UNSUCCESSFULLY ATTACKED THE AISNE AND RHEIMS SALIENTS.
The Aisne Salient covered Compiègne and the road to Paris. The Rheims Salient covered the left wing of the Army of Champagne.
To the north, along the Aisne, in the neighbourhood of Amblény, the Germans, despite very heavy losses, were unable to make progress, being held in check by the Moroccan Division. To the south, in the region of Longpont and Corey, they advanced only 400 to 500 yards. In the centre, where the principal effort was being made, they succeeded, by means of violent bombardments, in driving the French from the plateau, west of Retz Ravine and, after capturing Cœuvres, St. Pierre-Aigle, and Vertes-Feuilles Farm, progressed in the direction of Montgobert. On the 13th, they entered Laversine, but could neither debouch from Cœuvres nor advance west of Vertes-Feuilles Farm. Once again they had failed.
On the 15th, a spirited French counter-attack cleared the Retz stream, recaptured Cœuvres, and advanced the French line to the east of Montgobert, the outskirts of Chaffosse and to the west of Chavigny.
The enemy unsuccessfully attacked the Rheims salient on June 18, from Vrigny to La Pompelle (see the Michelin Guide: “Rheims and the Battles for its possession”).
The German Peace Offensive (“Friedensturm”) of July 15.
The Germans, desirous of an early decision and hypnotised once again by the vision of Paris—threatened on the north from the Oise Valley and on the east from the Ourcq and Marne Valleys—decided on a new and still more powerful offensive, which they named the “Friedensturm” or “Peace Battle.”
The collapse of this offensive—final turning point of the war—was all the more striking in that it was conceived and executed on truly “kolossal” lines. The enemy attacked on a front still wider than that of the Marne, extending from Château-Thierry to Massiges on the outskirts of Argonne, and measuring fifty-four miles in length. (For particulars of the Battle of Champagne, see the Michelin Guide: “Champagne and Argonne.” French edition.)
By a frontal attack, Ludendorff aimed at separating the Allied Armies of the north from those of the east, by outflanking Verdun (via St. Menehould and the upper Aisne Valley) on the one hand, and Rheims and the Mountain of Rheims (via the Marne Valley) on the other hand.