LAUGH OR CRY: PART XII
In this final instalment, Peter Hart and Gary Bain examine the stoic wit and pithy observations that kept ‘Tommy’ fighting as the tide turned on the Western Front
It was Germany’s last chance. Russia’s collapse meant they could launch a series of stunning attacks on the Western Front in 1918 – before the arrival of the Americans, who had joined the Allies in April 1917 but would not be able to mobilise significant strength until 1918.
The Kaiserschlacht, or Spring Offensive, was designed to exploit the redeployment of 50 divisions from the east and strike across the best ground before Allied numerical superiority began to bite. The British knew the Germans were going to attack, but not when. It was a tense situation but not all took it as seriously as they might.
