WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.640 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're really glad you 00:00:03.640 --> 00:00:05.299 decided to join us today. Yeah, thanks for being 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:07.459 here. Because the historical territory we're 00:00:07.459 --> 00:00:10.539 about to cover is just, it's an incredible study 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:13.640 in military strategy, human endurance, and, well, 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:16.780 systemic collapse. Our mission for this Deep 00:00:16.780 --> 00:00:20.859 Dive is to explore Operation Michael. That was 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:24.199 the formidable opening thrust of the 1918 German 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:26.179 Spring Offensive during the First World War. 00:00:26.429 --> 00:00:29.949 It is a truly remarkable topic to dissect. The 00:00:29.949 --> 00:00:33.560 sheer scale and the... doctrinal shifts that 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:35.380 occurred over those couple of weeks in the spring 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:38.460 of 1918, they effectively reshaped modern warfare. 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:40.600 Exactly. And to guide us through this, we're 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.960 relying on a really comprehensive historical 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:45.560 article that details the grand strategies, the 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:47.960 on the ground tactics and the absolute fog of 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:50.179 war that defined the operation. Right. And the 00:00:50.179 --> 00:00:52.219 facts we pulled from the source are genuinely 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:54.740 surprising. We're looking at the largest single 00:00:54.740 --> 00:00:57.000 artillery barrage in the history of warfare, 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:00.140 the lethal debut of elite German stormtroopers 00:01:00.140 --> 00:01:03.780 and the profound psychological irony of an advancing 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:06.579 army losing its momentum because they discovered 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:09.319 a hidden stash of enemy chocolate and champagne. 00:01:10.099 --> 00:01:12.519 Yes. It sounds like a detail from a novel, right? 00:01:12.730 --> 00:01:15.489 But that cognitive dissonance had real tactical 00:01:15.489 --> 00:01:17.989 implications. Absolutely. I think it's crucial 00:01:17.989 --> 00:01:20.950 to frame the historical stakes right out of the 00:01:20.950 --> 00:01:23.569 gate here. This deep dive isn't just about moving 00:01:23.569 --> 00:01:27.150 pieces on a map. What we are examining is a desperate 00:01:27.150 --> 00:01:30.489 do -or -die gamble by a nation that is essentially 00:01:30.489 --> 00:01:33.430 starving. Right. Germany is trying to win a global 00:01:33.430 --> 00:01:36.069 war of attrition before American troops can arrive 00:01:36.069 --> 00:01:38.390 in full force and definitively tip the scales. 00:01:38.629 --> 00:01:42.420 It is a literal race against the clock. navigate 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.099 through these events, I'd love for you to keep 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:46.640 one question in mind. What stands out to you 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:48.939 when you hear about soldiers being pushed past 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.620 the absolute limits of human endurance? Okay, 00:01:51.640 --> 00:01:53.959 let's unpack this. To really grasp the gravity 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.120 of Operation Michael, we need to set the stage 00:01:56.120 --> 00:01:59.040 in early 1918. Let's do it. Germany's domestic 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:01.799 situation is dire. The civilian population is 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:04.819 facing severe food shortages, largely due to 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:07.859 the Allied naval blockade. But geopolitically, 00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:12.240 they just received this This unprecedented windfall. 00:02:12.539 --> 00:02:15.960 The Russians surrender. Exactly. Russia negotiates 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:18.360 a surrender and signs the Treaty of Brest -Litovsk. 00:02:18.650 --> 00:02:22.169 With the Eastern Front secured, Germany is suddenly 00:02:22.169 --> 00:02:25.289 able to transfer nearly 50 divisions of battle 00:02:25.289 --> 00:02:27.129 -hardened soldiers straight to the Western Front. 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:29.310 It was massive. For the first time in years, 00:02:29.509 --> 00:02:31.889 the German forces actually outnumber the Allies 00:02:31.889 --> 00:02:34.530 in France and Belgium. And that numeric advantage 00:02:34.530 --> 00:02:37.169 is precisely why that clock we mentioned is ticking 00:02:37.169 --> 00:02:39.449 so loudly in the ears of the German High Command. 00:02:40.009 --> 00:02:41.969 The United States has entered the war, and the 00:02:41.969 --> 00:02:44.210 American Expeditionary Force is actively building 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:47.530 up its logistics and manpower in France. German 00:02:47.530 --> 00:02:49.550 intelligence is highly aware of the timeline. 00:02:50.330 --> 00:02:53.370 They expect 318 ,000 American soldiers to land 00:02:53.370 --> 00:02:57.009 by May and over a million by August. Wow. The 00:02:57.009 --> 00:02:59.349 window for a German victory is closing fast. 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:02.150 They know their only chance is to definitively 00:03:02.150 --> 00:03:04.349 fracture the Allied lines before that American 00:03:04.349 --> 00:03:06.150 industrial and demographic weight just bears 00:03:06.150 --> 00:03:08.479 down on them. You mentioned they knew the Americans 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.919 were coming. But looking at the mastermind of 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:14.039 this offensive general, Eric Ludendorff, did 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:16.360 the German High Command genuinely believe they 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:19.120 could push the entire British expeditionary force 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:22.400 into the sea? Or was that just an exercise in 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:25.060 logistical hubris? It was an immense strategic 00:03:25.060 --> 00:03:28.319 gamble. undoubtedly tinged with hubris. I mean, 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:30.819 Ludendorff's plan was essentially a massive, 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:34.419 size -like, flanking maneuver that armies simply 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:36.659 hadn't successfully executed since the Trench 00:03:36.659 --> 00:03:39.199 network solidified years prior. Right. He wanted 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:41.560 to attack the British lines on the Somme, achieve 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:43.960 a clean breakthrough, and then wheel his forces 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.219 northwest. The objective was to physically sever 00:03:47.219 --> 00:03:49.500 the British forces from the French, capture the 00:03:49.500 --> 00:03:52.080 vital channel ports, cut off British supply lines, 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:54.460 and force a rapid capitulation. And Ludendorff 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:56.840 knew exactly where to aim that scythe. He targeted 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:58.879 a highly vulnerable section of the line held 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:01.000 by the British Fifth Army. They were commanded 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:03.659 by General Hubert Goh. A very tough spot to be 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:05.840 in. Because of heavy political pressure from 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:08.180 the French, The British had recently been forced 00:04:08.180 --> 00:04:10.840 to take over a new, extended section of the front 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:14.080 line. But this newly inherited line was essentially 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.319 a mirage. Yeah, it wasn't much of a line at all. 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:18.740 It was poorly prepared, filled with isolated 00:04:18.740 --> 00:04:21.740 outposts, and situated in the cratered wasteland 00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:25.759 left over from the 1916 Sum Battles. Furthermore, 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.439 the British were suffering a severe manpower 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:31.620 shortage at the time, which forced them to reorganize 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:34.220 and shrink their divisions from 12 battalions 00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:36.769 down to just nine. And we really need to pause 00:04:36.769 --> 00:04:39.709 on that arithmetic, because shrinking from 12 00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:42.509 battalions to nine isn't just an administrative 00:04:42.509 --> 00:04:45.470 footnote. It completely breaks the tactical math 00:04:45.470 --> 00:04:48.670 of their defense. How so? Well, the British were 00:04:48.670 --> 00:04:50.850 trying to implement a strategy called defense 00:04:50.850 --> 00:04:53.509 in depth. The idea wasn't just to have solid 00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:56.410 lines of trenches. It was to create a web of 00:04:56.410 --> 00:04:59.389 mutually supporting machine gun readouts, essentially 00:04:59.389 --> 00:05:02.069 fortified islands. Like a layered net? Exactly. 00:05:02.370 --> 00:05:04.470 You got a forward zone, a battle zone, and a 00:05:04.470 --> 00:05:07.139 rear zone. The goal was to absorb the shock of 00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:09.959 an attack and bleed it dry. But because Goff 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:13.050 lost 25 % of his infantry, He simply didn't have 00:05:13.050 --> 00:05:15.730 the bodies to man those islands. Right. And the 00:05:15.730 --> 00:05:17.790 tragic reality on the ground was that they hadn't 00:05:17.790 --> 00:05:20.689 even had time to finish constructing those zones. 00:05:20.829 --> 00:05:23.670 No, not even close. The forward zone was lightly 00:05:23.670 --> 00:05:25.949 held. The battle zone had redoubts that were 00:05:25.949 --> 00:05:27.769 spaced way too far apart to cover each other 00:05:27.769 --> 00:05:31.589 with crossfire. And that crucial rear zone, because 00:05:31.589 --> 00:05:34.709 of acute labor shortages and the notoriously 00:05:34.709 --> 00:05:37.769 difficult, chalky soil of the Somme, the rear 00:05:37.769 --> 00:05:40.649 zone was essentially just chalk outlines on the 00:05:40.649 --> 00:05:44.209 ground when the began. Goff was begging for labor 00:05:44.209 --> 00:05:46.829 battalions but the political leadership in London 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:49.290 was withholding reinforcements. Which sets the 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:51.360 stage perfectly for the German assault. Because 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:53.420 the Germans weren't just bringing more men to 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:55.660 this weak point. They were fundamentally altering 00:05:55.660 --> 00:05:57.720 their military doctrine. Right. No more linear 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.980 advances. Exactly. Listeners familiar with the 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:03.819 era know the linear advance tactics of 1916 were 00:06:03.819 --> 00:06:06.120 largely obsolete. But the German infiltration 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:09.199 tactics of 1918 were still a massive evolutionary 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:12.879 leap. They developed elite units called Stoßtruppen 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.899 or Stormtroopers. They abandoned the rigid linear 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:18.439 advance entirely. They did. And the innovation 00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:20.540 wasn't just in their loadout. Though they were 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:22.959 heavily armed with light machine guns, grenades, 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:26.819 and flamethrowers, their real innovation was 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:29.500 pushing decision making down to the squad level. 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.519 That's the key. Their orders were to bypass the 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:34.759 heavily defended British strong points entirely. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:37.620 If you hit a machine gun nest, you don't assault 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:40.420 it. You flow around it like water, slip through 00:06:40.420 --> 00:06:42.680 the gaps, and push deep into the rear to attack 00:06:42.680 --> 00:06:45.360 headquarters, artillery parks, and supply lines. 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:47.899 It was all about severing the enemy's nervous 00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:50.259 system. What's fascinating here is how the artillery 00:06:50.259 --> 00:06:52.339 evolved to synchronize with this new infantry 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:55.240 doctrine. For years, armies operated under the 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.480 assumption that artillery destroys and infantry 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:00.100 occupies. You would bombard a trench for two 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:02.480 weeks, churning the ground into impassable mud 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:04.579 and basically telegraphing your attack to the 00:07:04.579 --> 00:07:06.459 enemy. Right, giving them plenty of time to bring 00:07:06.459 --> 00:07:10.100 up reserves. Exactly. The Germans, guided by 00:07:10.100 --> 00:07:13.160 artillery genius George Bruckmiller, abandoned 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.000 destruction in favor of neutralization. They 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.680 utilized what was called a hurricane bombardment. 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:21.379 Which was incredibly brief, lasting only a few 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:24.620 hours, but mathematically precise and intensely 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:27.800 concentrated. Precisely. And they utilized a 00:07:27.800 --> 00:07:30.579 very specific, terrifying chemical sequence. 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:33.480 They didn't just fire high explosives, they opened 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:36.500 with tear gas. Oh wow. The tear gas would penetrate 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:39.160 the British gas masks, causing the soldiers to 00:07:39.160 --> 00:07:41.860 vomit and pull their masks off. Once the masks 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:44.600 were off, the artillery switched to lethal phosgene 00:07:44.600 --> 00:07:47.180 and chlorine gas mixed with heavy concentrations 00:07:47.180 --> 00:07:49.620 of mustard gas to contaminate the artillery batteries 00:07:49.620 --> 00:07:52.779 and command posts. That is brutal. The goal was 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:55.079 to completely paralyze British communications 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.660 before the stormtroopers even left their trenches. 00:07:57.879 --> 00:08:00.339 The tragic irony is that even if General Goff 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:03.060 had miraculously finished those rear defenses, 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:05.180 the environmental conditions on the morning of 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:07.540 March 21st would have rendered those mutually 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:11.019 supporting readouts nearly useless. a huge factor. 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:13.759 Imagine you're on the ground that morning. When 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:16.660 the storm finally broke, it broke with a fury 00:08:16.660 --> 00:08:19.800 that is difficult to fathom. Winston Churchill 00:08:19.800 --> 00:08:21.939 was actually present that morning inspecting 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:24.360 troops near the front. That's right. He described 00:08:24.360 --> 00:08:26.560 the start of the German bombardment with a quote 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:29.980 that vividly captures the scale. He said exactly 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:32.539 as a pianist runs his hands across the keyboard 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:35.519 from treble to bass, there rose in less than 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.580 one minute the most tremendous canonade I shall 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:41.519 ever hear. Give you chills. He described it as 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:45.629 a continuous curve of leaping red flame. In just 00:08:45.629 --> 00:08:48.330 five hours, the Germans fired over three and 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:51.250 a half million shells across a hundred and fifty 00:08:51.250 --> 00:08:53.269 square mile area. And you have to picture the 00:08:53.269 --> 00:08:56.690 weather. When dawn broke on March 21, a thick, 00:08:57.110 --> 00:09:00.509 heavy morning fog blanketed the Som Valley. Visibility 00:09:00.509 --> 00:09:02.629 was barely 10 yards. You can't even see the next 00:09:02.629 --> 00:09:05.429 trench. Right. When you combine that dense natural 00:09:05.429 --> 00:09:08.210 fog with a thick smoke and chemical gas from 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:10.669 three and a half million artillery shells, the 00:09:10.669 --> 00:09:13.139 British defenders were effectively blinded. A 00:09:13.139 --> 00:09:15.100 machine gun readout is useless if the gunners 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:17.200 can't see the enemy 50 feet away. That makes 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:19.320 sense. This was the perfect environment for the 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.519 German infiltration tactics. The stormtroopers 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:25.620 simply slipped right past the forward zone undetected. 00:09:25.980 --> 00:09:28.000 Telephone wires were immediately severed by the 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.639 high explosives and human runners got hopelessly 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.240 lost in the fog. British command and control 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:35.659 disintegrated within hours. Imagine you were 00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:37.779 sitting in a brigade headquarters miles behind 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:40.279 the line and the phone lines suddenly go dead. 00:09:40.409 --> 00:09:42.389 Terrifying. You have no idea what is happening 00:09:42.389 --> 00:09:44.590 until German stormtroopers are suddenly kicking 00:09:44.590 --> 00:09:47.009 down your door. In the midst of that fog and 00:09:47.009 --> 00:09:50.370 systemic collapse, you see incredible tragic 00:09:50.370 --> 00:09:54.070 instances of isolated rearguard actions. Because 00:09:54.070 --> 00:09:56.389 the stormtroopers bypassed the strong points, 00:09:56.850 --> 00:09:58.730 those British garrisons were left surrounded 00:09:58.730 --> 00:10:02.149 deep behind enemy lines. On the second day of 00:10:02.149 --> 00:10:05.110 the battle, March 22, there was a redoubt known 00:10:05.110 --> 00:10:08.210 as Manchester Hill. The garrison was the 16th 00:10:08.210 --> 00:10:10.250 Manchester's, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel 00:10:10.250 --> 00:10:13.269 Wilfrid Elstob. Elstob had told his men beforehand 00:10:13.269 --> 00:10:15.090 that they would defend the hill to the last, 00:10:15.149 --> 00:10:17.970 and they did exactly that. Cut off and facing 00:10:17.970 --> 00:10:20.230 overwhelming numbers, they fought for hours, 00:10:20.710 --> 00:10:23.730 severely disrupting the German timetable. Elstob 00:10:23.730 --> 00:10:26.730 himself was killed at 1630 that afternoon. But 00:10:26.730 --> 00:10:29.230 their stubborn resistance exemplifies the desperate 00:10:29.230 --> 00:10:31.929 holding actions taking place across the sector. 00:10:32.789 --> 00:10:35.340 However, Those tactical stands were undermined 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:38.080 by massive communication failures at the operational 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:40.639 level. For instance, British General Iver Max, 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:42.940 commanding the F Corps, received orders from 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:45.340 General Gauck outlining a fighting retreat if 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:48.100 the tactical situation demanded it. But in the 00:10:48.100 --> 00:10:50.340 utter chaos of the severed communication lines, 00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:53.460 Max misinterpreted this contingency as a direct 00:10:53.460 --> 00:10:55.740 order to fall back all the way to the River Somme. 00:10:56.029 --> 00:10:59.809 This forced his 36th Division to retreat prematurely 00:10:59.809 --> 00:11:02.269 across the canal, abandoning defensible ground 00:11:02.269 --> 00:11:04.590 and forcing adjacent units to scramble backward, 00:11:05.009 --> 00:11:07.549 just to cover the resulting gaps. It created 00:11:07.549 --> 00:11:10.309 an incredibly fluid, exhausting environment for 00:11:10.309 --> 00:11:13.470 the soldiers. By days three and four, formal 00:11:13.470 --> 00:11:15.470 units were fragmenting. You have men from different 00:11:15.470 --> 00:11:18.029 battalions, cooks, and engineers just clumping 00:11:18.029 --> 00:11:20.289 together to form ad hoc defense lines. Yeah, 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:22.590 total chaos. There's a remarkable account of 00:11:22.590 --> 00:11:24.889 Lieutenant Alfred Herring. He was an officer 00:11:24.889 --> 00:11:26.990 who had never actually been in combat before. 00:11:27.029 --> 00:11:31.269 Really? Yeah. Yet on March 23, he takes command 00:11:31.269 --> 00:11:35.049 of a small platoon of untested men, leads a counterattack 00:11:35.049 --> 00:11:38.639 to recapture the vital Montaigne bridge and stubbornly 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:41.159 holds it against the advancing German army for 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.100 12 straight hours. Incredible. He was awarded 00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:47.240 the Victoria Cross for that action. But despite 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:49.700 localized heroism, the overarching reality was 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:52.100 that the British were falling back miles every 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:54.899 single day. Which, on a map in Ludendorff's headquarters, 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:58.639 looked like a spectacular success. But this rapid, 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:01.779 unprecedented advance created a severe logistical 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:04.679 vulnerability. They outran their supplies? Exactly. 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:07.519 The German infantry was marching far outpacing 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:09.980 their own supply lines. They were physically 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:12.799 dragging heavy machine guns and trench mortars 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:16.340 over the pulverized crater -strewn wasteland 00:12:16.340 --> 00:12:20.100 of the 1916 -some battlefields. They were physically 00:12:20.100 --> 00:12:22.960 redlining, reaching the absolute limits of human 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:25.379 endurance. Here's where it gets really interesting 00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:27.159 because we have to look at the intersection of 00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:29.850 propaganda and logistics. Oh, this is fascinating. 00:12:30.330 --> 00:12:32.470 The German high command had been feeding their 00:12:32.470 --> 00:12:35.289 troops a very specific narrative. The soldiers 00:12:35.289 --> 00:12:37.350 were told that the unrestricted U -boat campaign 00:12:37.350 --> 00:12:40.090 was starving the British Isles, that the allies 00:12:40.090 --> 00:12:42.570 were on the brink of collapse and that one massive 00:12:42.570 --> 00:12:44.970 push would shatter their fragile military. Right. 00:12:45.269 --> 00:12:48.629 But as these exhausted, starving German stormtroopers 00:12:48.629 --> 00:12:51.509 push deep into the British rear zone, they start 00:12:51.509 --> 00:12:54.210 overrunning abandoned British supply dumps. And 00:12:54.210 --> 00:12:56.700 what do they find in those dumps? The exact opposite 00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:59.440 of a starving enemy. They find vast quantities 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.700 of canned meat, writing paper, fresh boots. They 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:05.639 find massive stashes of chocolate and even champagne. 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:08.860 It's just wild picture. You really have to analyze 00:13:08.860 --> 00:13:12.299 the psychological impact of that discovery. Put 00:13:12.299 --> 00:13:14.500 yourself in the boots of a German stormtrooper. 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:17.019 You've been living on meager rations of turnip 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:19.820 bread. You know your family back in Germany is 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:22.220 suffering through the turn of winter, boiling 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:24.360 wallpaper to survive. Yeah. You've been assured 00:13:24.360 --> 00:13:26.860 the enemy is in worse shape. Then you capture 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:28.759 their trenches and discover they're eating chocolate 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:31.200 and drinking champagne. The cognitive dissonance 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.700 must have been staggering. It was a profound 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:37.279 psychological blow. In that single moment of 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.320 discovery, the troops realize their leadership 00:13:40.320 --> 00:13:42.990 has been lying to them. The Allies aren't starving. 00:13:43.389 --> 00:13:45.549 The British Empire's supply chain is robust. 00:13:45.750 --> 00:13:48.549 Combine that sudden, crushing demoralization 00:13:48.549 --> 00:13:51.370 with the sheer physical exhaustion of a multi 00:13:51.370 --> 00:13:53.509 -day advance, and the vaunted Jonan momentum 00:13:53.509 --> 00:13:56.789 noticeably bogs down. Entire companies stop advancing. 00:13:56.909 --> 00:13:58.929 They sit in the captured trenches, looting the 00:13:58.929 --> 00:14:01.029 food and wine because they were simply too hungry 00:14:01.029 --> 00:14:03.299 and too disillusioned to keep marching. It is 00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:06.240 a striking historical insight how the mundane 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:09.600 discovery of a supply depot can act as a friction 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:12.519 point that alters the pacing of a massive offensive. 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:15.399 And while the German advance lost its crucial 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:18.559 speed to forage for food, the exhausted allies 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:21.919 were finding these miraculous second wins. Look 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:25.820 at the British 54th Brigade on March 25. These 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:28.120 soldiers have been executing a punishing fighting 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.970 retreat for four days straight. They are heavily 00:14:31.970 --> 00:14:34.570 attrued. Just completely worn out. They finally 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:36.889 receive orders to fall back behind a river line 00:14:36.889 --> 00:14:39.230 to rest. But just as they're marching towards 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:41.809 safety, they get a sudden reversal of orders, 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:44.070 turn around and execute a counterattack on a 00:14:44.070 --> 00:14:46.769 village called Babelif. By all physiological 00:14:46.769 --> 00:14:48.429 metrics, that brigade should have collapsed. 00:14:48.649 --> 00:14:51.970 Exactly. But instead, they form up, fix bayonets, 00:14:52.049 --> 00:14:54.950 and charge the village. They achieve total tactical 00:14:54.950 --> 00:14:56.769 surprise against the Germans, who assume they 00:14:56.769 --> 00:14:59.090 were just facing scattered French rear guards. 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:02.659 Wow. The 54th Brigade wins the engagement, taking 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:05.940 230 prisoners and capturing 10 machine guns in 00:15:05.940 --> 00:15:08.039 about 20 minutes of close quarters fighting, 00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:10.299 and their ultimate reward for this localized 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:13.320 victory. They finally get to sit in the cornfields, 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:15.440 bring up the filled kitchens, and eat a hot meal. 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:18.820 That kind of localized resilience was buying 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:21.299 the Allied high command the one resource they 00:15:21.299 --> 00:15:24.960 desperately needed time. By March 26, The political 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.840 and military leadership of Britain and France 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:29.899 realized that this disjointed, uncoordinated 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:33.139 retreat was courting disaster. They convened 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:35.759 the Dolenz conference. And from what the sources 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:38.100 indicate, the political friction in that room 00:15:38.100 --> 00:15:41.480 was intense. The French commander, General Petain, 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:44.220 was highly pessimistic, seemingly ready to fall 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:47.139 back and simply cover Paris, which would have 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:49.759 left the British flank completely exposed. Yes, 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:52.080 the coordination between the Allies up to this 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.679 point was largely based on gentleman's agreements 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:57.299 rather than a unified chain of command. Right. 00:15:57.340 --> 00:15:59.580 The crisis of Operation Michael forced their 00:15:59.580 --> 00:16:02.720 hands. At Doulins, they made the monumental decision 00:16:02.720 --> 00:16:05.360 to finally appoint French General Ferdinand Foch 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:08.059 as the supreme Allied commander, or Generalissimo. 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:10.899 For the first time in the war, there was formal, 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.899 structural unity of command. That's a huge turning 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:16.059 point. Foch had the authority to coordinate the 00:16:16.059 --> 00:16:18.860 French and British armies together, strategically 00:16:18.860 --> 00:16:21.440 deploying French reserves to plug the gaps in 00:16:21.440 --> 00:16:23.240 the British lines that Ludendorff was trying 00:16:23.240 --> 00:16:25.539 to exploit. Right around this time, we also see 00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:28.279 a massive technological shift entering the battlefield. 00:16:28.600 --> 00:16:31.759 At a gap in the line near Cullen Camps, the British 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.840 deploy their new Whippet tanks. Oh, the Whippets. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:37.039 Yeah, these weren't the slow, lumbering, heavy 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.759 tanks that got stuck in the mud back in 1916. 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:42.580 The Whippets were lighter, heavily armed with 00:16:42.580 --> 00:16:45.639 machine guns, and crucially, much faster. It 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.500 was their very first combat deployment. Just 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:51.460 in time to. Just 12 of these Whippet tanks emerged 00:16:51.460 --> 00:16:53.919 from a village and the shock value was devastating. 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:57.440 Roughly 300 German infantrymen who were exhausted 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:00.769 and had no anti -tank weaponry, broke and fled 00:17:00.769 --> 00:17:03.789 in panic. The Whippets capitalized on the exact 00:17:03.789 --> 00:17:05.849 thing the Germans were losing mobility. They 00:17:05.849 --> 00:17:08.170 could exploit the gaps, turning the German infiltration 00:17:08.170 --> 00:17:10.190 tactics against them. If we connect this to the 00:17:10.190 --> 00:17:12.829 bigger picture, the introduction of Allied reserves 00:17:12.829 --> 00:17:15.990 and faster armor highlights a fatal strategic 00:17:15.990 --> 00:17:18.250 flaw on the part of General Ludendorff. This 00:17:18.250 --> 00:17:20.109 is perhaps the greatest lesson of the operation. 00:17:20.170 --> 00:17:22.910 What is it? Ludendorff possessed brilliant tactical 00:17:22.910 --> 00:17:25.849 vision, but lacked a coherent operational strategy. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:29.160 He famously remarked, we chop a hole and the 00:17:29.160 --> 00:17:32.000 rest follows. But that isn't how grand strategy 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.539 works. Right. Instead of ruthlessly concentrating 00:17:34.539 --> 00:17:36.880 all of his forces on the areas where he had actually 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.599 broken through the weak British Fifth Army, he 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.839 kept shifting his attacks to try and widen the 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:44.519 breach at its strongest points. Which led to 00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:48.279 Operation Mars on March 28. Precisely. He launched 00:17:48.279 --> 00:17:50.200 Operation Mars against the British Third Army 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:53.140 around Eris to the north. But the Third Army 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:55.549 hadn't been severely weakened. They were heavily 00:17:55.549 --> 00:17:58.670 defended, organized, and anchored on the formidable 00:17:58.670 --> 00:18:01.170 bastion of Vimy Ridge. A completely different 00:18:01.170 --> 00:18:04.559 scenario. Exactly. Ludendorff threw 29 divisions 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:07.039 against him and they were decisively repulsed. 00:18:07.160 --> 00:18:09.200 He burned through his exhausted elite troops 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:11.119 by throwing them against the strongest parts 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:13.960 of the Allied line, simply to reinforce tactical 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:16.359 engagements rather than pursuing a strategic 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:19.140 objective. Meanwhile, the political fallout on 00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:21.859 the Allied side resulted in a tragic injustice 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:25.440 for British General Hubert Goh. His fifth army 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:28.339 had taken the absolute brunt of the initial storm 00:18:28.339 --> 00:18:31.640 80 German divisions crashing into his 15 British 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:34.160 division. and most impossible odds. Despite lacking 00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:36.319 the manpower, lacking the rear defenses, and 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.319 facing an unprecedented tactical doctrine, Goff 00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:42.779 conducted a brilliant stubborn 38 -mile fighting 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:46.240 retreat. He kept his army intact, prevented a 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:49.140 total route, and denied the Germans their strategic 00:18:49.140 --> 00:18:52.019 objectives. You really did. And his reward. He 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:54.500 was what the military called Stellenboscht, relieved 00:18:54.500 --> 00:18:56.839 of command and sent home to be the political 00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:58.700 scapegoat for the fact that the Germans broke 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:01.400 the line at all. It was deeply unfair and heavily 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.519 driven by the panic in London. Goss' Fifth Army 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:07.160 had absorbed the heaviest blow of the war and 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.119 essentially fought the German offensive to a 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:11.599 standstill. By early April, Operation Michael 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:14.680 was running on fumes. Ludendorff launched one 00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:17.579 final, desperate thrust toward the vital Allied 00:19:17.579 --> 00:19:20.180 rail center of Emienz, specifically targeting 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:22.660 the town of Villers -Bretnau on April 4th. And 00:19:22.660 --> 00:19:24.819 that's famous for another reason, right? Yes. 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:27.359 This engagement is notable in military history 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:29.440 because it featured the first simultaneous use 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:32.630 of tanks by both sides in combat. But the German 00:19:32.630 --> 00:19:36.069 advance was finally definitively halted by a 00:19:36.069 --> 00:19:38.289 brilliantly organized night counterattack by 00:19:38.289 --> 00:19:40.829 Australian and British infantry. The following 00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:43.970 day, April 5th, recognizing the exhaustion of 00:19:43.970 --> 00:19:46.390 his forces and the stiffening of the Allied line, 00:19:46.950 --> 00:19:49.170 Ludendorff officially terminated the offensive. 00:19:49.910 --> 00:19:53.569 So what does this all mean? When the dust finally 00:19:53.569 --> 00:19:55.890 settled on Operation Michael, the statistics 00:19:55.890 --> 00:19:58.960 were staggering. The Germans had captured 1200 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.519 square miles of territory and pushed the front 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:05.359 line forward by up to 40 miles. That's an unprecedented 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:07.519 territorial gain for the Western Front. Absolutely. 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:09.779 But crucially, they completely failed to achieve 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:12.079 their strategic objectives. They didn't capture 00:20:12.079 --> 00:20:14.380 the vital rail hub of Amiens. They didn't reach 00:20:14.380 --> 00:20:16.380 the channel ports and they did not split the 00:20:16.380 --> 00:20:18.470 British and French armies apart. And the human 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:20.549 cost of that territorial game was devastating. 00:20:20.950 --> 00:20:23.630 We're looking at roughly 250 ,000 German casualties 00:20:23.630 --> 00:20:27.109 and about 255 ,000 Allied casualties. Unbelievable 00:20:27.109 --> 00:20:29.549 numbers. But the strategic impact of those numbers 00:20:29.549 --> 00:20:32.829 was highly asymmetrical. The Allies were losing 00:20:32.829 --> 00:20:35.809 men and material, yes, but they had the Americans 00:20:35.809 --> 00:20:38.789 pouring into French ports by the tens of thousands 00:20:38.789 --> 00:20:41.950 every week to replace them. Furthermore, Allied 00:20:41.950 --> 00:20:44.470 industry was churning out thousands of new artillery 00:20:44.470 --> 00:20:46.930 pieces and tanks. Well, Germany couldn't replace 00:20:46.930 --> 00:20:50.089 those losses. Germany had permanently lost its 00:20:50.089 --> 00:20:53.369 irreplaceable, highly trained Stoßtruppen. They 00:20:53.369 --> 00:20:55.470 had burned their best men to capture a strategically 00:20:55.470 --> 00:20:58.490 useless wasteland of shell craters. Ultimately, 00:20:58.670 --> 00:21:01.250 the tactical success but strategic failure of 00:21:01.250 --> 00:21:03.490 Operation Michael larked the beginning of the 00:21:03.490 --> 00:21:05.890 end of the First World War for Germany. It is 00:21:05.890 --> 00:21:08.839 a profound piece of history. a narrative of shifting 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:11.339 doctrines, the integration of new technologies, 00:21:11.559 --> 00:21:13.720 and the sheer endurance of the soldiers forced 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:16.000 to execute these grand designs on the ground. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.700 We want to thank you for joining us on this deep 00:21:18.700 --> 00:21:21.339 dive into the source material. We hope you walked 00:21:21.339 --> 00:21:23.440 away with a clearer understanding of the mechanics 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:25.500 and the human element behind one of the most 00:21:25.500 --> 00:21:27.740 pivotal military operations of the 20th century. 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:31.400 I echo that sentiment. And as we conclude, I 00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:33.160 want to leave you with a final thought to mull 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.640 over, returning to that captured supply dump. 00:21:36.380 --> 00:21:38.900 Consider how the mundane discovery of enemy chocolate, 00:21:39.299 --> 00:21:41.240 writing paper, and champagne might have done 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:43.180 more to shatter the fighting spirit of an elite 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:45.619 army than millions of rounds of high explosives. 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:48.180 It raises a fascinating question about the true 00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:51.420 nature of warfare. It makes you wonder how much 00:21:51.420 --> 00:21:53.880 of a military's immense power relies not on its 00:21:53.880 --> 00:21:56.500 kinetic weapons or its tactical doctrine, but 00:21:56.500 --> 00:21:58.440 entirely on the fragile stories the soldiers 00:21:58.440 --> 00:22:01.640 are told and what inevitably happens the moment 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:03.200 those stories are shattered by reality.