Allied Troop Movements During Operation Michael
Operation Michael, the first German assault of the Spring Offensive, began on March 21, 1918. Germany moved many divisions from the East to the Western Front after Russia dropped out of the war, hoping to win a quick victory in France. The German attack caught the Allies by surprise and aimed at breaking the line along a wide front.
On the Allied side, British General Sir Douglas Haig led the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and French General Philippe Pétain led the French Army. By early 1918 Britain faced manpower limits. Prime Minister David Lloyd George had kept troop levels tight and hoped American soldiers would arrive soon. France, worried about the risk to Paris, pressed for the British to take on more front and for reserves to be held back in Germany’s path.
The line chosen for much of the spring offensive was the British Fifth Army Front, run by General Hubert Gough. This portion of the front had recently been extended north of the Somme by taking over land from the French—an arrangement Clemenceau, the French prime minister, supported to strengthen Allied defenses. The area was weak at the start of the German attack because the natural barrier, the Oise River, had dried up in the winter, leaving an opening for a breakthrough.
The German assault began with heavy artillery and quickly forced a breach in the Allied line over roughly 50 miles. German planners had expected the attack to be met by a strong Allied reserve, but Haig and Pétain had not kept their reserves ready in the right place. As a result, the initial German push moved rapidly, and the Allies found themselves in trouble.
Haig asked for French help to shore up the right flank near Amiens. Pétain did send French divisions to assist, but he believed most of his forces were needed to defend Paris. He pulled his reserves back toward the Champagne region and delayed sending them to the breach. This reduced how quickly the Allies could reinforce the line and slowed their ability to hold the advancing Germans.
By March 23–25 the situation looked dire. Paris was threatened, and discussions among Allied leaders reflected fear that the French and British might be separated on the front. Persuading the French to commit more troops, Haig pressed for French divisions to cover the English sector, while Pétain tried to balance the danger to Paris with the need to stop the German advance.
American help arrived later that week. General John J. Pershing pledged four American divisions to support Pétain. Three were less-trained units; one went directly into action with the British. This brought the total Allied forces near the breach to about 24 French divisions plus a handful of British and American divisions. However, moving such forces to the front took time, with divisions needing days to travel by train and even longer to bring up artillery and supplies.
Behind the scenes, a turning point was developing. Secret meetings in Paris and nearby towns led to a decision that changed Allied command: General Ferdinand Foch was named Supreme Commander of the Allied forces on March 26. His appointment aimed to unite the French, British, and American efforts on the Western Front and ensure a coordinated defense rather than competing plans.
By March 26 the Allies had a more coordinated plan, even as the German assault pressed on. The British and French began to work together more closely, using Pershing’s American divisions and the arriving French forces to shore up the breach. The mass movement of troops remained slow, but Foch’s leadership helped prevent a complete collapse and set the stage for a coordinated Allied counteroffensive.
In short, Operation Michael put Allied armies to the test as Germany pushed hard to win the war quickly. Poor timing and misjudgments about reserves, combined with slow troop movements, nearly allowed the Germans to break the line. The turning point came with the appointment of Ferdinand Foch as Allied Supreme Commander, which helped unite the forces and avert a total collapse.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 21:04 (CET).