#operation georgette

[herprivateswe]

Image: IWM (Q 55273) The Battle of the Lys (Operation Georgette). A German cyclist section moving forward on foot, April 1918.

[today-in-wwi]

First Tank vs. Tank Battle

British and Commonwealth soldiers on top of a captured German A7V.  This particular tank tipped over during the fighting on April 24, and was retrieved from no-man’s-land several weeks later.

April 24 1918, Villers-Bretonneux--After a respite of a few days to let his armies recuperate, Ludendorff ordered a final push to seize the heights south of Ypres.  This was to be preceded by a resumption of the attack towards Amiens, stalled earlier in the month.  This attack was to be supported by 13 of Germany’s new A7V tanks--more than half the total Germany would produce during the war.  The Germans took the town of Villers-Bretonneux on April 24, and while pushing on past the town, an A7V encountered three British Mark IV tanks.  It quickly force the two “female” tanks (armed only with machine guns) to withdraw.  The male tank, however, scored several hits on the A7V, forcing the crew to bail out.  The British tank later engaged two more A7Vs later in the day, driving them off before being disabled by mortar fire; the Germans would capture the tank after the crew abandoned it.  The Germans, however, would themselves lose two additional tanks that tipped over during the fighting due to their high center of gravity; the British would recover one from no man’s land three weeks later, and the other when the Germans lost the area during the summer.

The Germans had lost three of their tanks (a full 15% of their wartime production) during the battle, and even their gains during the day proved ephemeral.  An Australian-led counterattack at 10PM recaptured Villers-Brettoneux along with 600 German PoWs; Amiens would not be seriously threatened again during the war.

Earlier Today: Last Sortie of the High Seas Fleet

[grandeguerra100]

La Grande Guerra, giorno dopo giorno: 10 Aprile 1918 Continua l'avanzata tedesca nelle Fiandre, il villaggio di Messines è catturato dai tedeschi ma ripreso durante un contrattacco da parte di truppe sudafricane. La 25a Divisione a Sud, circondata ai fianchi, è costretta a ritirarsi. A causa dell'avanzata tedesca nella campagna a nord, le posizioni della 34a Divisdione ad Armentières devono essere abbandonate. Armentières è persa. A causa del bombardamento con gas da parte tedesca del giorno prima, 8.424 soldati alleati rimangono feriti, i morti però saranno solo 30. Nella foto, soldati britannici della 55a Divisione West Lancashire accecati dal gas in fila in un'Unita Sanitaria Avanzata nei pressi di Bethune, 10 Aprile 1918. Foto scattata dal Sottotenente Thomas Keith Aitken. The Great War, day by day: 10 April 1918 The German continue their advance in Flanders, the village of Messines is conquered but recaptured in a heroic action by South African troops. The 25th Division to the south, flanked on both sides, withdraws about 4 kilometres (2.5 miles). The advances in the north of the campaign area make the 34th Division's position at Armentiers impossible to hold and they have to pull back. Armentiers is lost. 8,424 the wounded caused by the German bombing of the day before, the dead will be only 30. In the picture, taken by Lieutenant Thomas Keith Aitken, British soldiers of the 55th West Lancashire Division blinded by gas in a row in an Advanced Health Unit near Bethune, 10 April 1918. Fonte / Source: © IWM (Q 11586)

[poor-bloody-infantry]

© IWM (Q 6554) German Offensive on the Lys (Operation Georgette). French and British soldiers working together putting up wire near Berthen, 23 April, 1918.

[herprivateswe]

Image: IWM (Q 6570) The Battle of the Lys (Operation Georgette). German prisoners being guarded by Australian troops. Caestre, 23 April 1918.

[herprivateswe]

Image: IWM (Q 55261) The Battle of the Lys. German 21cm Morser 1916 heavy howitzers being drawn along a road by tractors at Armentieres, 9 April 1918.

[herprivateswe]

Image: © IWM (Q 50228) Loading wounded from the Mairie at Erquinghem-Lys to ambulance wagon. March 1915. 18th Field Ambulance, 6th Division.

[today-in-wwi]

Germans Take Mount Kemmel

Mt. Kemmel, after the fighting.

April 25 1918, Ypres--After a short respite and a diversion to the south near Amiens, the Germans attacked again south of Ypres.  Their primary objective for the day was Mt. Kemmel, the highest point in the vicinity of Ypres; from there the Germans hoped they could push down the other side and force the British to withdraw from Ypres entirely.  With elite mountain troops in the vanguard, the Germans attacked at 6AM with a large artillery bombardment, and had secured the summit from its French defenders in little over an hour.  They did not push on further, however--the objectives for the day were limited, and reserves could not be made ready in time.  Attacks over the next few days made met with determined resistance from Allied reinforcements, and Georgette as a whole was called off after a last attack on April 29.  The Allies did, on the same day, consider a withdrawal to St. Omer, abandoning Ypres and Dunkirk, but dismissed such thoughts once it became apparent the German offensive had stopped.  As a result, although the Germans had gained much ground around Flanders, and won another important propaganda victory, they had again lengthened their lines and suffered heavy casualties in their most elite units without inflicting a strategic defeat on the allies.

Today in 1917: First US War Loan to Britain Today in 1916: Germany Calls off U-Boat Campaign Today in 1915: Allied Landings at Gallipoli