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The Portuguese Expeditionary Force in France. The first battalion heading to the trenches.
Headstones in the Portuguese Cemetery in Neuve Chapelle, France. Portugal joined the Entente Allies in 1917. They were on the front line in Operation Georgette, the German Lys Offensive, the second German drive of 1918. The Cemetery is across a field from the Indian Memorial visible in the background. Nearby is the Laventie German Cemetery. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Metal cross grave marker of Corporal Jakob Naumann who died on April 10, 1918, likely in Operation Georgette, the Lys Offensive, launched the previous day. From the Laventie German Military Cemetery, Laventie, France. © 2013 by John M. Shea
Barbed wire helps stop the Hun on the Western Front. A March 14, 1918 photograph, one week before the beginning of Operation Michael, Germany's Somme Offensive.
Metal cross grave marker of Army Reservist Paul Schwarz, who died on April 12, 1918, likely in Operation Georgette, the Lys Offensive, launched April 9. From the Laventie German Military Cemetery, Laventie, France.
"General Foch's superb strategy had enabled the wearied armies of Britain and France, though outnumbered two to one, to halt the first German drive toward the Channel Ports in the vital sector between Montdidier and the Luce River on April 5, 1918.The Germans paused two days to catch their breath and spy out a more vulnerable point of attack in the Allied line. They found it further north in the 20-mile sector lying between La Bassee and Ypres, which had been depleted by the withdrawal of 100,000 men to assist in checking the German drive south of the Somme.Of the remaining nine divisions defending this sector, eight were at the point of exhaustion from the strain of the retreat from St. Quentin. In truth, one of the Portuguese divisions already had been sent to the rear to recuperate and the other was preparing to leave for the rear when the Germans made their new thrust in the Valley of the Lys." ((1), more)
"At about 7 a. m. on the 9th of April, in thick fog which again made observation impossible, the enemy appears to have attacked the left brigade of the 2nd Portuguese Division in strength and to have broken into their trenches. A few minutes afterwards, the area of attack spread south and north. Shortly after 7 a. m. the right brigade of the 40th Division reported that an attack had developed on their front, and was being held, but that machine gunners near their right-hand post could see the enemy moving rapidly through the sector to the south of them." ((2), more)
"On the Western Front, the situation was worsening for the Allied forces. On April 10 [1918] the British were driven from Messines, which had been gained at such cost nine months earlier. Almost all the officers in charge of the British gas companies were themselves incapacitated by German gas shells. 'Inferno continues,' one of them, Donald Grantham, wrote in his diary that day. 'Hun is nearing Béthune. Everyone clearing out. Everything in a muddle. Everyone flying. Refugees on road terrible. Have left behind in cellar pounds worth of kit.'" ((3), more)
"There is no other course open to us but to fight it out. Every position must be held to the last man; there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us much fight on to the end. The safety of our homes and the freedom of mankind depend alike upon the conduct of each one of us at this critical moment." ((4), more)
"After crossing the Lawe Canal, General von Quasts's troops seized Locon and Estaires and, farther north, Hollebeke. On the 12th Merville and Merris fell into their hands, and their advance guards were already on the edge of the Nieppe Forest. The depth of the progress had thus attained 11 miles. Faced with this development of the battle, Field Marshal Haig saw his resources being rapidly used up, and he deemed it more than ever essential that the French co-operate in Flanders." ((5), more)
(1) German commander Erich Ludendorff launched his great offensive of 1918, Operation Michael, on March 21. Although it drove the British forces from hundreds of square miles of territory, it did not achieve the breakthrough and splitting of the Allied armies Ludendorff sought. Trying again, he turned to a previously rejected plan, to attack on the Lys River along the Franco-Belgian border. Portugal joined the Entente Allies in 1916, and its troops, the Portuguese Expeditionary Force, took up positions in 1917. They would be the first victims of Operation Georgette.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, page 415, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(2) German commander Erich Ludendorff launched his second great offensive of 1918, Operation Georgette, the Lys Offensive, on April 9, after a preliminary bombardment of two days, striking the attenuated Portuguese line. The offensive, a pared-down version of a previously rejected plan, was an attack on the Lys River along the Franco-Belgian border. Portugal joined the Entente Allies in 1916, and its troops, the Portuguese Expeditionary Force, took up positions in 1917. In early April, the Portuguese were being relieved, the 1st Division having been withdrawn on April 5. With no replacement for the 1st, the 2nd Division extended their line, anticipating relief on the 9th, the day of Offensive began. The attack rapidly extended to the British. Excerpt from General Douglas Haig's July 1918 official report on the Battle of the Lys.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, p. 107, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(3) April 10 was the second day of German commander Erich Ludendorff's second great offensive of 1918, Operation Georgette, the Lys Offensive. On the first day, after a two-day preliminary bombardment, the Germans demolished a half-strength Portuguese line. The offensive, a pared-down version of a previously rejected plan, was an attack on the Lys River along the Franco-Belgian border.
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 414, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
(4) British Commander General Douglas Haig's Order of the Day for April 11, the third day of German commander Erich Ludendorff's second great offensive of 1918, Operation Georgette, the Lys Offensive. The offensive, a pared-down version of a previously rejected plan, was an attack on the Lys River along the Franco-Belgian border. On the first day, after a two-day preliminary bombardment, the Germans demolished a half-strength Portuguese line then spread north and south attacking the British to either side.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, page 105, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
(5) The British were in increasingly difficult straits on April 12, the fourth day of German commander Erich Ludendorff's second great offensive of 1918, Operation Georgette, the Lys Offensive. On the first day, after a two-day preliminary bombardment, the Germans demolished a half-strength Portuguese line, then spread north and south striking the British to either side. The offensive, a pared-down version of a previously rejected plan, was an attack on the Lys River in Flanders along the Franco-Belgian border. British commander was Douglas Haig already badly weakened by Operation Michael in March, looked to newly appointed Commander-in-Chief Ferdinand Foch for reinforcements.
The Memoirs of Marshal Foch, translated by Col. T. Bentley Mott by Ferdinand Foch, pp. 286–287, copyright © 1931 by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., publisher: Doubleday, Doran & Co., publication date: 1931
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