The second battle of the Somme, 21 March-4 April 1918, was the first of General Ludendorff's five great offensives launched during the spring and summer of 1918. At the start of 1918 Ludendorff realised that he had a short period of time in which to win the war – the collapse of Russia gave the Germans a temporary numerical advantage on the Western Front, but millions of American soldiers were on their way to Europe. 318,000 American soldiers were already in France by May 1918, and another million arrived before August.
Ludendorff's plan involved an attack on a fifty mile front south of Arras. In the south it was intended to reach the Somme, and then hold the line of the river against any French counterattacks. Further north two armies would attack, to the north and south of the Flesquieres salient, created during the battle of Cambrai. The two northern armies would then attack the British position around Arras before advancing north west, to cut off the BEF in Flanders. During the planning process the southern advance was extended to include an advance across the Somme. The success of this southern advance would badly unbalance the entire offensive.
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