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The Third battle of Aisne - The First World War - May 1918

The German generals launched a major offensive in the Spring of 1918, intending to beat the Allies before American troops could be deployed. General Ludendorff selected the Aisne region for one of the major strikes, success here would leave the German army at the edge of Paris and hopefully lead to the capitulation of the French army.

As was now typical of warfare on the Western Front a massive bombardment of the enemy lines preceded the attack. In this case some 400+ pieces of artillery were engaged against Allied lines: causing devastation and inflicting many casualties in this instance.

The bombardment was assisted by the use of poison gas, which was followed, as soon as the gas had lifted, by the infantry assault. The weakened Allied forces were rolled over by the advancing German force, achieving the largest gain in territory the war had seen since the first month of fighting, leaving Ludendorff just 56 miles away from Paris when French reserves were brought to the front in sufficient numbers to halt the advance.