The Allied armies arrive at the turning point of the war.

Engaged now in battle, they have seized the initiative The Allied armies arrive at the turning point of the war.

Engaged now in battle, they have seized the initiative of operations from the enemy.

The moment has come to abandon the general defensive attitude forced upon us until now by numerical inferiority

and to pass to the offensive.

Ferdinand Foch, July 24, 1918.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

The 20th century. The

The Theean, Episode 168, The Black Day.

The last time we looked at the Western Episode 168, The Black Day.

The last time we looked at the Western Front, episodes 161 and 162, I told you about the four German offensives of spring 1918, which were collectively an effort to make use of Germany's

temporary numerical superiority in the West

to break the Allied line and end the war,

before the arrival of large numbers of American soldiers permanently tipped the balance the other way.

Those four offensives racked up some impressive territorial gains,

but failed to strike the hoped-for decisive blow that would end the war. In particular, Operation Blucher, the third of the four

offensives, had pushed the French back along the sector of the front roughly between the French

towns of Suassan and the city of Rens.

The Germans advanced all the way to the River Marn, reaching a point to just 100 kilometers

from Paris and capturing a large swath of French countryside. Now I mention Suassan and

Rens for a reason. Both of these towns are important rail junctions in a region of France where roads and railroads are scarce.

The Germans have a considerable force inside the salient they have just captured, and while they have taken Suassan, meaning they have one rail line from which to supply their troops in the salient,

...