The Second Battle of the Marne (French: Seconde Bataille de la Marne), or Battle of Reims (15 July-6 August 1918) was the last major German Spring Offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The German attack failed when an Allied counterattack led by France overwhelmed the Germans, inflicting severe casualties. It was the turning point of the war in the western front.
Following the failures of the Spring Offensive to end the confl...
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The Second Battle of the Marne (French: Seconde Bataille de la Marne), or Battle of Reims (15 July-6 August 1918) was the last major German Spring Offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The German attack failed when an Allied counterattack led by France overwhelmed the Germans, inflicting severe casualties. It was the turning point of the war in the western front.
Following the failures of the Spring Offensive to end the conflict, Erich Ludendorff, Chief Quartermaster-General and virtual military ruler of Germany, believed that an attack through Flanders would give Germany a decisive victory over the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), the most experienced Allied force on the Western Front at that time. To shield his intentions and draw Allied troops away from Belgium, Ludendorff planned for a large diversionary attack along the Marne.
The battle began on 15 July, when 23 German divisions of the First and Third armies—led by Bruno von Mudra and Karl von Einem...
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