Operation Michael was a
First World War German military operation that began the
Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the
Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of
Saint-Quentin,
France. Its goal was to break through the Allied lines and advance in a north-westerly direction to seize the Channel ports, which supplied the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and to drive the BEF into the sea. Two days later Ludendorff changed his plan and pushed for an offensive due west, along the whole of the British front north of the
River Somme. This was designed to separate the French and British Armies and crush the British forces by pushing them into the sea. The offensive ended at
Villers-Bretonneux, to the east of the Allied communications centre at
Amiens, where the
Entente managed to halt the German advance; the German armies had suffered many casualties and were unable to maintain supplies to the advancing troops.