Hubert Gough

On 21 March 1918, Hindenburg and Ludendorff launched Operation Michael, the main thrust of the spring offensive intended to split the British and French armies near Saint-Quentin, drive the British towards the sea and force France to sue for peace.

By the 25th of March, the Germans had almost entirely destroyed the British Fifth Army, commanded by General Hubert Gough, and the failure of the British and French commands to cooperate with each other led to the appointment of French General Ferdinand Foch as Allied Commander-in-Chief.

Following these initial German successes, Kaiser Wilhelm awarded Hindenburg and Ludendorff the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, but his optimism soon proved misplaced, as the German attack foundered near the River Somme, the site of heavy fighting in 1916.

The British strengthened their defenses at Amiens and Arras, and on the 5th of April Ludendorff called off Operation Michael.

And now that means that as far as possible, General Herbert Plumer's Second Army had to be kept up to strength.

Next in line was General Henry Horne's 1st Army, holding the heights of the Vimy and Lorette Ridges, with General Julian Bing's 3rd Army covering Arras, and finally, General Hubert Gough's 5th Army, which covered the Somme area.

Now, the Somme area is where Haig considers he's got a degree of flexibility.

Now, that's because there's no significant tactical, or if you like, strategic, something really important, within 40 miles of the front line.

Haig

hardened his heart and ignored Gough's pleas for reinforcements, even though the RFC reconnaissance reports had identified the Somme as the target of the German spring offensive.

Now, the Fifth Army, let's look at the Fifth Army defences in the Somme area, because this is what we're concentrating on in this episode.

They're based on a system of defence in depth.

What's really interesting, though, is that this is not a Rawlinson plan.

This is actually being launched by Hubert Gough, who, if you were listening to our Pozières episode, he was the one who was driving the Australians forward to a great degree.

A thruster, a controversial commander, uh, a man of action, really.

Has a, a, a contested legacy, it's fair to say, as a, a First World War general, even in his own lifetime.