April 9th, 1918 - The Battle of Lys

Conflict: World War I

Combatants: Allies vs. Germans

Location: Belgium

Outcome: Minor German victory

Following a heavy bombardment, German forces under General Erich Ludendorff launched a major offensive against British and French troops along the Lys River. After nearly three weeks of fighting, Ludendorff managed to create a salient in the Allied lines but did not fully breakthrough.

British gunners with 18 pounder at Saint Floris Battle of the Lys 1918 by John Warwick Brooke

Points of Interest:

• The Germans suffered 350,000 casualties during the Battle of Lys; Allied casualties were 305,000.

• Erich Ludendorff later joined the Nazi party, supported the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, served in the Reichstag, and ran unsuccessfully for president.
  

Erich Ludendorff by Alexander Binder

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Ellis, John, & Cox, Michael (2001). The World War I Databook. Bodmin, UK: MPG Books Ltd.

Keegan, John (2001). An Illustrated History of the First World War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.