The German assault units waited for the bombardment that had begun at 0440 hours to finish. At 0940 hours the assault troops left their trenches and advanced towards the British line.
This was the start of Operation Michael, the first phase of the Kaisers Offensive, involving 73 divisions and three armies. A total of 840,000 men.
The 17th Army failed to achieve its objectives on the first day, but continued to advance. By the 23rd March 1918 it had been ordered to advance in the direction of Arras-St Pol.
17th Army (Otto von Below)
XVIII Corps (LtGen Victor Albrecht)
(1st Line)
111th Infantry Division (MajGen Johannes von Busse)
221st Infantry Division (MajGen Siegfried von La Chevellerie)
234th Infantry Division (MajGen Karl von Stumpff)
(2nd Line)
2nd Guards Reserve Division (MajGen Axel von Petersdorff)
6th Bavarian Division
(3rd Line)
239th Infantry Division (MajGen Maximillian von Reitenstein)
VI Reserve Corps (LtGen Kurt von dem Borne)
(1st Line)
17th Division (MajGen Arthur von Gabain)
195th Division (MajGen Georg Weidner)
(2nd Line)
1st Guards Reserve Division (MajGen Paul Teide)
5th Bavarian Division (LtGen Nikolaus von Endres)
(3rd Line)
24th Infantry Division (MajGen Rudolf Hammer)
XIV Reserve Corps (LtGen Arthur von Lindequist)
(1st Line)
3rd Guards Division (MajGen Dietrich Roder von Diersburg)
20th Infantry Division (LtGen Otto von Trautmann vice 26/3 MajGen Wilhelm Zwenger)
(2nd Line)
39th Infantry Division (MajGen Julius Edler von Davans)
XI Corps (LtGen Viktor Kuhne)
(1st Line)
24th Reserve Division (Col Otto von Oldershausen)
53rd Reserve Division (MajGen Max Leuthold)
119th Infantry Division (MajGen Karl Wilhelm Berger)
(2nd Line)
4th Infantry Division
Attack Plan
XVIII Corps to attack the British 34th and 59th Divisions
VI Reserve Corps to attack the British 6th Division
XIV Reserve Corps to attack the British 6th Division and 51st Division
XI Corps to attack the British 51st Division
18 Divisions
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