Book contents
- On a Knife Edge
- Cambridge Military Histories
- On a Knife Edge
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Hubris
- Part II Climax: At the Apex of War
- Part III Nemesis: The Defeat of the Central Powers and the Destruction of the European Order
- 14 Military Developments in the First Half of 1917
- 15 The First Russian Revolution and the Opportunity for a Peace Agreement with the Russian Democracy
- 16 ‘War Psychosis’? The Reichstag’s Peace Offer and Bethmann Hollweg’s Demission
- 17 ‘The Unmasking of the Central Powers’?
- 18 ‘Glorious, but Hopeless’: Germany’s Position at the Turn of the Year 1917/18
- 19 ‘Ludendorff’s Hammer’: The Western Offensive of 1918
- 20 ‘Now the War Was Lost’: The Military Collapse of the Central Powers
- 21 ‘Savage in Victory, Contemptuous in Defeat’: Germany’s Route out of the War
- The Final Reckoning: A Terrible Debt that Must Be Paid
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index: People
- Index: Places
19 - ‘Ludendorff’s Hammer’: The Western Offensive of 1918
from Part III - Nemesis: The Defeat of the Central Powers and the Destruction of the European Order
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 October 2022
Book contents
- On a Knife Edge
- Cambridge Military Histories
- On a Knife Edge
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Hubris
- Part II Climax: At the Apex of War
- Part III Nemesis: The Defeat of the Central Powers and the Destruction of the European Order
- 14 Military Developments in the First Half of 1917
- 15 The First Russian Revolution and the Opportunity for a Peace Agreement with the Russian Democracy
- 16 ‘War Psychosis’? The Reichstag’s Peace Offer and Bethmann Hollweg’s Demission
- 17 ‘The Unmasking of the Central Powers’?
- 18 ‘Glorious, but Hopeless’: Germany’s Position at the Turn of the Year 1917/18
- 19 ‘Ludendorff’s Hammer’: The Western Offensive of 1918
- 20 ‘Now the War Was Lost’: The Military Collapse of the Central Powers
- 21 ‘Savage in Victory, Contemptuous in Defeat’: Germany’s Route out of the War
- The Final Reckoning: A Terrible Debt that Must Be Paid
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index: People
- Index: Places
Summary
This chapter analyses the German offensives in 1918 and Ludendorff’s plan. It states that there was no clear alternative discussed in the time. It shows how the attack was prepared, what its objectives and intentions were, and describes the five following large attacks and their strategic failure, despite their tactical successes.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- On a Knife EdgeHow Germany Lost the First World War, pp. 344 - 376Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022