SCHERPENBERG HILL
The German Offensive of 1918
The front was quiet during the winter of 1917—1918, but 1918 opened darkly for the Allies.
The Treaty of Brest-Litowsk had sealed the defection of Russia, while Roumania, reduced to her own resources, was forced to sign the Treaty of Bukarest. Lastly, invaded Italy was only just recovering from the disaster at Caporetto. Already, in spite of the terms of the Brest-Litowsk Treaty, huge masses of troops, guns and stores were being despatched to the Western Front. The blow fell on March 21, 1918.
The objectives, three in number, were the smashing of the British right wing at its junction with the French; the separation of the two Allied army groups; the driving back to the Channel coast of the two British armies, after they had been surrounded on the south. The long-coveted road "Nach Paris" would then at last be open.
But in spite of their colossal efforts the Germans were held.
By March 31, the German Imperial forces were exhausted, and General Foch was able to say: "The wave has spent itself on the beach." The peril seemed to be averted.
But the respite was only a short one. The German attack before Amiens was scarcely stayed (April 6) when the battle suddenly broke out again. From the Arras sector to La Bassée the whole line was ablaze as far as the Lys. While, in the first German offensive the British right had suffered severely, it was against the left wing of the same army that the new blow was struck.
The new offensive, although quickly prepared, was even more violent than the first.