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2nd Battle of Marne - The First World War - June/ July 1918

Throughout the Spring the Germans offensives on the western Front had succeeded, with gains being made across much of the front-line. By June the advance had crossed the River Aisne and reached the River Marne. At this point the French were desperate. Paris appeared to be within reach of the Germans and the British army were busy trying to halt the German advance at Lys.

Marshal Petain managed to persuade the British to divert 4 divisions of troops to Marne, along with 2 divisions of the American army: who had only just arrived in France.

Ludendorff, the German Field marshal, ordered 40 divisions to attack the entrenched French army on July 15th. For the past few months such weight of numbers had resulted in a gradual rolling back of the Allied defenses. This time however the French line held firm, despite very heavy casualties. The Allies then turned to the offensive and by early August had succeeded in regaining all of the land in this sector that had been taken by the Germans from march through to August.

This victory for the Allies was particularly significant. The Germans had thrown everything they had available at the Allied Lines throughout the spring offensive, indeed the generals had told the men that to win the war they needed to break through whilst on that particular offensive. Being held and then pushed backwards had a serious psychological impact on the German troops and hierarchy. They still held strong positions, the one's that they had successfully defended for most of the war, but now they had lost the will to fight and the belief that they could win the war on the battlefield.