First Battle of the Somme (1918)

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The main Battle of the Somme was fought in the summer and autumn of July 1916. The First Somme Battle of 1918 was fought from March 21 to April 5, 1918; it is also known as the Battle of Saint-Quentin or the Second Battle of the Somme^[1].

Of the battles in the valley of the River Somme fought in 1918, the earlier series began with the German Spring Offensive, launched from the Hindenburg Line, on March 21, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin. It reached a crisis at Villers-Bretonneux a little to the east of the key Allied communications centre of Amiens. The winning of that battle by the Allies, marked the beginning of the end of the First World War, as this Western front was the most significant by this stage and the German advance stalled largely through an inability to maintain supplies.

The German navy had been unable to prevent the arrival in France of large reinforcements from America and the German army was unable to recover before these reinforcements were sufficiently well deployed to influence the outcome of the war during the fighting later in the Year.

This was the basis for the play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff

A distinct battle of the Somme started on 21 August 1918.

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