Order of battle for the Spring Offensive

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Main articles: Operation Michael and German spring offensive

German Spring Offensive, 1918
Part of the Western Front of World War I
Western front 1918 german.jpg
German gains in 1918
Date21 March – 18 July 1918
Location
Northern France; West Flanders, Belgium
50°00′10″N 02°39′10″E / 50.00278°N 2.65278°E / 50.00278; 2.65278Coordinates: 50°00′10″N 02°39′10″E / 50.00278°N 2.65278°E / 50.00278; 2.65278
Result See Aftermath section
Belligerents

 German Empire

French Third Republic France
British Empire British Empire

 United States
Kingdom of Italy Italy
Portugal Portugal
Commanders and leaders
German Empire Erich Ludendorff French Third Republic Ferdinand Foch
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Douglas Haig
French Third Republic Philippe Pétain
United States John J. Pershing
Kingdom of Italy Alberico Albricci
Portugal Tamagnini de Abreu

This is the order of battle for Operation Michael, part of the German Spring Offensive fought from 21 March to 5 April 1918 as one of the main engagements of the First World War. It was fought between mixed French, British and Dominion forces and the German Empire in the Somme region in northern France.

German forces, Western Front[]

Army Group Crown Prince Rupprecht[]

  • Generalfeldmarschall Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
    • Chief of Staff: General Hermann von Kuhl
  • 4th Army (18 divisions)
  • 6th Army (15 divisions)
    • General der Infanterie Ferdinand von Quast
    • Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-Colonel Hermann Baron von Lenz
  • 17th Army (28 divisions) *
    • General der Infanterie Otto von Below
    • Chief of Staff: General Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen
  • 2nd Army (21 divisions)

Army Group German Crown Prince[]

  • General der Infanterie Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany
    • Chief of Staff: Colonel Friedrich Bernhard Count von der Schulenburg
  • 18th Army (27 divisions)
  • 7th Army (11 divisions)
    • Generaloberst Max von Boehn
    • Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-Colonel Walther Reinhardt
  • 1st Army (12 divisions)
    • General der Infanterie Fritz von Below
    • Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-Colonel Robert von Klüber
  • 3rd Army (11 divisions)
    • Generaloberst Karl von Einem
    • Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-Colonel Wilhelm von Klewitz

Army Group Gallwitz[]

Army Group Duke Albrecht[]

  • Generalfeldmarschall Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
    • Chief of Staff: Colonel Wilhelm Heye
  • 19th Army (10.5 divisions)
    • General der Infanterie Felix Graf von Bothmer
    • Chief of Staff: Colonel Hans Ritter von Hemmer
  • Armee-Abteilung A (5 infantry, 2 dismounted cavalry divisions)
    • General der Infanterie Bruno von Mudra
    • Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-Colonel Friedrich Baron von Esebeck
  • Armee-Abteilung B (9 infantry, 1 dismounted cavalry division)

British armies[]

Fifth Army[]

General Sir Hubert Gough

US Army
  • 6th Battalion United States (railway) Engineers (2 companies)[3]

Third Army[]

General Hon. Sir Julian Byng

French Group of Armies of Reserve[]

General Émile Fayolle

Third Army[]

General Georges Louis Humbert

First Army[]

General Marie-Eugène Debeney

  • 56th Division (from 25 March)
  • II Cavalry Corps[b]
  • 1st Cavalry Division (from 26 March)
  • 5th Cavalry Division (from 26 March)
  • 6th Cavalry Division (from 27 March)[4]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Staff only[4]
  2. ^ Divisions were deployed separately[4]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Kitchen 2001, pp. 320–321.
  2. ^ a b Edmonds 1995, pp. 545–547.
  3. ^ Edmonds 1995, p. 507.
  4. ^ a b c Edmonds 1995, p. 549.

Bibliography[]

  • Edmonds, J. E.; et al. (1995) [1935]. Military Operations France and Belgium, 1918 The German March Offensive and its Preliminaries. History of the Great War Based on Official Documents By Direction of the Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence (Imperial War Museum & Battery Press ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 0-89839-219-5.
  • Kitchen, Martin (2001). The German Offensives of 1918. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0752417991.

External links[]

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