1918 - The Year of Breakthroughs

E1. Machinations In The British High Command - Week 180

Jan 4, 2018 · 9m

1918 starts with machinations in the British High Command since Prime Minister Lloyd George is holding back troops and generally would like to replace Sir Douglas Haig as commander.

E2. Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points - Week 181

Jan 11, 2018 · 10m

In the first full week of 1918, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson outlines his points for peace. In the Caucasus, the increasing instability leads to daily skirmishes between the Armenians and Ottomans. Ludendorff continues planning for an upcoming German offensive whilst his countrymen negotiate peace terms with Russia.

E3. Assassination Attempt on Lenin - Chaos in Romania - Week 182

Jan 18, 2018 · 10m

This week in Russia, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin was almost killed by sharpshooters in Petrograd and the Constituent Assembly meets. Tensions rise as Russia issues an ultimatum to Romania, with an order for their King’s arrest. There are also machinations in Finland and some action on the Western Front.

E4. Civil War in Finland and Ukraine - Week 183

Jan 25, 2018 · 10m

This week in the Great War, two more wars start - the Finnish Civil War and the Ukrainian War of Independence. Meanwhile, David Lloyd George pulls some strings in France, even as Ludendorff settles on a target for Germany’s upcoming Spring Offensive.

E5. Strikes and Mutiny - Week 184

Feb 1, 2018 · 10m

Public opinion is turning against the war for the Central Powers but not only that, mutinies are also happening more frequently. Winning the war will be a race against time for Ludendorff and Germany's allies. Within the month, the biggest German offensive of the war is to be unleashed.

E6. Austro-Hungarian House of Cards - Week 185

Feb 8, 2018 · 10m

The situation for Austria-Hungary is dire, even after the success in Italy and the peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk. Strikes and mutinies break out across the Empire and the emerging drive for ethnic self determination by the subjects of the Empire are worrying to the leaders of the Habsburg Empire.

E7. No War, No Peace – Trotsky's Gamble - Week 186

Feb 15, 2018 · 10m

The negotiations between the Bolsheviks, the German High Command and Austria-Hungary reach a new low this week 100 years ago. Leon Trotsky is playing for time since the revolutions in Berlin and Vienna are only a matter of time in his opinion. At the same time, the Ukrainians are try to get German aid against the Bolsheviks against Ukrainian grain for the starving German population.

E8. Operation Faustschlag - Germany Advances In The East Again - Week 187

Feb 22, 2018

Germany has had enough with the stalling tactics by the Bolsheviks and is unleashing its military might on the Eastern Front again to show who is in charge. Within the first days of Operation Faustschlag, the German Army marches on Kiev and the Baltic region. At the same time, the plans for a German spring offensive in the West are getting more pronounced.

E9. Ludendorff's Window Of Opportunity - Week 188

Mar 1, 2018

German victory in the East, chaos in the British High Command, stable fronts in the Balkans and Italy, the US still not in full strength; German General Erich Ludendorff has a window of opportunity for his spring offensive and he intends to use it. Within the next weeks the German Army will launch their biggest offensive of WW1: Operation Michael.

E10. Peace In The East - The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - Week 189

Mar 8, 2018 · 10m

Germany and the Russian Bolshevik Government sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ending hostilities on the Eastern Front. Previously Germany had resumed the war in the East to put pressure on the Bolsheviks to accept the dictated terms. The Western Front Caucasian theatre were far from peaceful though.

E11. Allied Unified Command On The Horizon - Week 190

Mar 15, 2018 · 10m

While Germany is occupying a territory from the North Sea to the Black Sea and planning it's huge spring offensive, the Allies are still trying to get behind the idea of a unified command.

E12. Kaiserschlacht - German Spring Offensive 1918 - Week 191

Mar 22, 2018 · 10m

It was all or nothing for the German Army under General Erich Ludendorff now: They unleashed the biggest offensive of the entire war on the Western Front trying to split the British and French Armies, drive the British off the continent and capture Paris.

E13. Backs To The Wall - All Eyes On Amiens - Week 192

Mar 29, 2018 · 10m

The German Operation Michael continues this week and after some uncertainty, the Germans put their eyes on Amiens. The city is a vital communications and transport hub for the Entente and so Ferdinand Foch decides to mount a defence in front of the city.

E14. Operation Michael Runs Out Of Breath - Week 193

Apr 5, 2018 · 10m

Two weeks after the initial success of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael looses pace and direction. The German supply situation is dire and when the troops find cattle and food behind the British positions, there is no way for them to ignore that. At the same time, orders for a new German offensive in Flanders are given and the Germans land additional troops in Finnland.

E15. The Battle of La Lys - Operation Georgette - Week 194

Apr 12, 2018 · 10m

A year after the US entry into the war, the German Spring Offensive 1918 continues with operations Archangel and Georgette. The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps has to pay the price while the British manage to orderly retreat.

E16. Knocking Out The Hejaz Railway - Week 195

Apr 19, 2018 · 10m

While the Germans are still advancing in Flanders (Operation Georgette), the other fronts are not always quiet. In Palestine, the British forces and the Arab Revolt are taking the initiative again. T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and the Arab Revolt are attacking the vital Hejaz Railway, a major transport factor for the Ottoman Empire.

E17. The First Tank-on-Tank Battle in History - The Zeebrugge Raid - Week 196

Apr 26, 2018 · 10m

At Villers-Bretonneux, German and British tanks clash marking the first tank-on-tank battle in history. In the same week, the most successful flying ace of World War 1 is shot down over France: Manfred von Richthofen dies after scoring 80 victories. Meanwhile, the British Navy attempts to eliminate the German U-Boat threat with a daring raid on Zeebrugge and Ostende.

E18. Pershing Under Pressure - The End Of La Lys - Week 197

May 3, 2018 · 10m

Even though the German spring offensive is not able to gain any ground in Flanders, the allied casualties are mounting. This increases the pressure on John J. Pershing and the American troops in Europe to finally join the battle.

E19. The Ostende Raid - Peace of Bucharest - Week 198

May 10, 2018 · 10m

Even though the first raid on Ostende and the Raid on Zeebrugge were not entirely succesfull, the Royal Navy is still determined to block access to the German submarine ports in Belgium. And this week they attack Ostende again. Meanwhile, the Germans are planning their next offensives for late May 1918 even though ten percent of the Western Front army has become a casualty in the offensives this year alone.

E20. Rebellion - Week 199

May 17, 2018 · 10m

The summer of 1918 saw many ethnic and political groups within the warring empires to openly rebel. The Austro-Hungarian Army saw open mutiny every week, the Irish rebelled against the British, the situation in the newly annexed Eastern European territories that were now part of the German Empire was a powder keg. And in France civilians were sentenced to death for treason.

E21. Bombs Away - German Thirst For Caucasian Oil - Week 200

May 24, 2018 · 10m

In the 200th week of the war, the total nature of modern warfare is truly showing its face. The warring nations escalate their bombing campaigns and the German troops in the Caucasus are so thirsty for Caucasian oil, that they are considering to double cross their own allies.

E22. 50 Miles To Paris - Third Battle Of The Aisne - Week 201

May 31, 2018 · 10m

The German spring offensive has lost some traction over the past few weeks but the Allies are still under pressure. With Operations Blücher and York, the Germans are getting within 50 miles of Paris again, just as they did in 1914.

E23. The Battle of Belleau Wood Begins - Week 202

Jun 7, 2018 · 10m

The German Army is still threatening Paris and the situation for the Allies looks dire. Reluctantly, General Pershing agrees to put some of the American troops into action at Belleau Wood and Château-Thierry.

E24. The French Counter Attack At Matz - Week 203

Jun 14, 2018 · 10m

The French have cracked the German radio code on the Western Front and use their advantage for a counterattack at Matz. The already hastily planed German attack during Operation Gneisenau is called off after just 4 days. Meanwhile Austria-Hungary plans another offensive in Italy and German and Ottoman forces fight each other in Georgia.

E25. Second Battle of the Piave River - Week 204

Jun 21, 2018 · 10m

Even though Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal Svetozar Boroević von Bojna warns against, the Austro-Hungarian Army goes on the offensive in Italy again. In a two-pronged attack Borojevic and Conrad von Hötzendorf attack the Italian positions.

E26. The Run For The Baku Oil Fields - Week 205

Jun 28, 2018 · 10m

While the Ottoman Army of Islam is marching on Baku and the Caspian Sea, multiple other players are trying to stake their claim of the Baku oil fields.

E27. The First Modern Battle - The Battle of Hamel - Week 206

Jul 5, 2018 · 10m

The Battle of Hamel is considered as the first modern battle. Masterminded by Australian general John Monash, it included meticulous planning and integrated tanks, artillery, airplanes and infantry into one cohesive strategy.

E28. The Gardeners Of Salonica Prepare A New Offensive - Week 207

Jul 12, 2018 · 10m

The Macedonian Front has been quite since the recapture of Monastir except for some minor battles like at Skra. But the five nation Army of the Orient wants to change that and is readying a new offensive.

E29. 2nd Battle Of The Marne - Turning Point On The Western Front - Week 208

Jul 19, 2018 · 10m

The German Army launches an diversionary attack from the Rheims-Soisson salient and increases the pressure on Paris. But the Allies knew about the attack and for the first time, they effectively counter the German Stormtrooper tactics and even counter-attack along the line.

E30. Ludendorff's Last Swing - Week 209

Jul 26, 2018 · 10m

All of Germany's recent offensives have been building up to Operation Hagen: An offensive in Flanders that was to divide the Allies and drive the British off the continent. But this week German High Command realizes that they don't have the manpower left to even start the offensive.