Spring Offensive - Episode #64

Highlights

Spring Offensive

Spring offensive in the media | @01:50

Operation Michael Overview - Mike Shuster | @10:10

3rd Division, 6th Engineers grab a gun and go - Dr. Edward Lengel | @14:05

‘Women’s Voices In Letters” exhibit - Lynn Heidelbaugh | @20:10

US Army Women’s Museum - Dr. Francoise Bonnell | @25:30

Book “Paws of Courage” - Nancy Furstinger | @31:45

Journey’s end director - Saul Dibb | @38:00

NC State 100C/100M project - Thomas Skolnicki, Benny Suggs and Commissioner Jerry Hester | @44:30

Centennial in Social Media - Katherine Akey | @53:20----more----

Opening

Welcome to World War 1 centennial News - episode #64 - It’s about WW1 THEN - what was happening 100 years ago this week  - and it’s about WW1 NOW - news and updates about the centennial and the commemoration.

Today is March 23rd, 2018 and our guests for this week include:

Mike Shuster, from the great war project blog giving an overview of the big German Spring Offensive - Operation Michael

Dr. Edward Lengel with a story of US Combat Engineers joining in the fight

Lynn Heidelbaugh introducing the new women’s exhibit at the Smithsonian’s  National Postal Museum

Dr. Francoise Bonnell discussing the history of women and the US Army

Nancy Furstinger talking about man’s best friends in WWI -- and other critters...

Saul Dibb the director of the feature film Journey’s End  talks about being in the trenches to make the film

Thomas Skolnicki, Benny Suggs and US WWI Centennial Commissioner Jerry Hester, sharing the 100 Cities/100 Memorials project at NC State University

Katherine Akey with the WW1 commemoration in social media

A great lineup of guest for WW1 Centennial News -- a weekly podcast brought to you by the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission, the Pritzker Military Museum and Library and the Starr foundation.

I’m Theo Mayer - the Chief Technologist for the Commission and your host. Welcome to the show.

Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xrhXYSHPEtG1CqMXEJj67

[MUSIC]

Preface

Every week as we prepare the podcast, we pour through the publications that came out that week 100 years ago and look for themes, trends and what is being talked about. This week, we were struck with what WASN’T being talked about - especially in government related media like the Official Bulletin - the government’s daily war gazette - published for the President by George Creel’s Committee on Public Information or the American Expeditionary Forces’ weekly Stars and Stripes newspaper.

This is the week, on March 21st, that the Germans slammed down their hammer with the first phase of their spring offensive.  

With that as a setup, let’s jump into our Centennial Time Machine and roll back 100 years to the week that launched the definitive 6 months of DO or DIE -  in the War that Changed the World!

World War One THEN

100 Year Ago This Week

It’s the third week of March, 1918

And to review the situation once again, Even before the Brest-Litovsk Treaty earlier this month, which successfully wraps up the war on Eastern Front for the Germans - the front collapsing has been freeing up massive resources of men, arms and munitions which are now being re-deployed to the Western Front.

Germany's General Erich Ludendorff plans a massive spring offensive designed to separate the British and French armies and force a surrender which the Germans feel pressure to do -  before the American troops can affect the outcome.

The offensive is code named Operation Michael, and unbeknownst to the allies is scheduled for March 21st., 1918.

Though the Allies could have   been more prepared, they surely were not surprised. Most historians agree that the only surprise is the specific day and the specific location for the offensive’s launch.

In fact,  by mid-February 1918, the buildup of both men and heavy artillery on the German side had become too large to dismiss any doubt of a coming attack.

In a letter from Sir Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief of the British Armies, written after the fact, he desc