Second Marne - Blücher-Yorck

Battles of the First World War Podcast

Mike Cunha

History

4.8 • 812 Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The battlefield of the Second Battle of the Marne was shaped by an earlier German offensive in late May and early June of 1918: Unternehmen Blücher-Yorck. Looking to draw away French reserves from the Flanders and Picardy areas, German GEN Erich Ludendorff aimed a new German attack in a sector where the French were particularly vulnerable: the Chemin des Dames.

Early and stunning success by German forces in the attack, however, led to overconfidence and the creation of a swollen and tenuous salient. This salient would become the battlefield for the 2nd Battle of the Marne.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This attack has the object of disturbing the present United Front of the Entente opposite Crown Prince-Rupresch's army group,
0:12.0	and thereby creating the possibility of a victorious continuation of the offensive against the British.
0:20.0	General de Infantry and Erstyn General Kvonelzegov of the offensive against the British.
0:23.8	General de Infantiry and the first General Quartiermeister, Erich Ludendorf.
0:28.0	May 1st, 1918. The
0:40.3	The The The Hey, folks. Welcome to the Battles of the First World War podcast. Second Marne, Blucher, York.
1:33.3	Admin news up first. Folks, spots remain available for the 2026 Lost Battalion Tours' summer pilgrimage to the old Mursargon battlefield. And here are a few details.
1:47.0	The trip is from July 2nd through July 8th, 2026. We give you a time frame to arrive at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, CDG, and we will pick you up.
2:00.0	As always, we do not book the flight for you as these days many days. CDG, and we will pick you up.
2:06.3	As always, we do not book the flight for you, as these days many people can get fantastic deals all by themselves.
2:08.4	These are deals we often couldn't meet.
2:10.8	We give you the date to be in Paris, and once we pick you up, everything is up to us.
2:15.2	We will shepherd you around, provide lodging and meals, and take you
2:18.9	places that will leave you fully satisfied with your experience. This next visit will be one
2:28.6	where we really plan to put boots on the ground. We will be walking in the paths of some
2:34.0	individual doleboys in
2:35.2	2026. This is a new-ish feature of Lost Battalion Tours, and we're excited to share it with you.
2:42.2	If you're ex-military and know about staff rides, the 26 pilgrimage will be like a light
2:48.3	staff walk, if that makes any sense.
2:55.3	Here are a couple of stops on our itinerary.
3:02.9	July 4th, with their bare hands, Malancourt to Montfacon.
3:10.1	We will walk in the footsteps of U.S. Army Major Harry Dravo Parkin, commander of 1st Battalion 316th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division.
	...

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