German expedited advance reserves on the battlefield in the 'Great German West Offensive', likely Operation Michael in March, 1918.
Vorgehende ReservenExpedited reservesReverse:Die grosse deutsche West-OffensiveThe great German offensive in the west
"This scattered remnant was disposed along a steep ridge, deep in growing corn, which sloped away towards the left into the wooded valley of the Ardre. Here, among the trees which bordered the river were more French, blue-clad 'poilus' as well as khaki-clad colonials, chattering and laughing and making great play with their Hotchkiss automatic rifles against German planes. In rear the hillside sloped abruptly down to a miniature valley in which nestled the village of Treslon and at which farther side the ground rose sharply up to another ridge of a more wooded nature, which I will call the Bouleuse ridge, from its proximity to the village of that name."
Excerpt from Sidney Rogerson's The Last of the Ebb, an account of his experiences in the first days of the German Aisne Offensive launched on May 27, 1918. Rogerson and what remained of his unit had been retreating for two days when they stopped and collected the roughly 250 men he describes. Four British divisions that had been devastated in Operations Michael and Georgette in March and April had been moved to the eastern end of the Chemin des Dames, in what was expected to be a quiet sector, one held by the French. French General Denis Auguste Duchêne ignored General Henri Philippe Pétain's order to strengthen and restructure his line and dismissed reports of German preparations for an offensive. Rogerson had already retreated 30 km before taking up the defensive position at Treslon.
The Last of the Ebb: the Battle of the Aisne, 1918 by Sidney Rogerson, page 68, copyright © Sidney Rogerson, 1937, publisher: Frontline Books, publication date: 2011
1918-05-29, 1918, May, Aisne Offensive, Expedited reserves, great German offensive in the west
