Second Battle of the Marne

Second Battle of the Marne
Part of the Western Front of World War I
German gains in early 1918
German offensives, 1918
Date15 July – 18 July 1918
Location49°5′N 3°40′E / 49.083°N 3.667°E / 49.083; 3.667
Result Entente victory
Belligerents
Entente Powers:
French Third Republic France
United States United States
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland United Kingdom
Kingdom of Italy Italy
Russian Empire Russia
 Siam[1]
Central Powers:
German Empire German Empire
Commanders and leaders
French Third Republic Ferdinand Foch
French Third Republic Paul Maistre
French Third Republic Émile Fayolle
French Third Republic Henri Gouraud
French Third Republic Charles Mangin
French Third Republic Antoine de Mitry
French Third Republic Henri Berthelot
French Third Republic Jean Degoutte
United States John J. Pershing
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Alexander Godley
Kingdom of Italy Alberico Albricci
Russian Empire Nikolai Lokhvitsky
German Empire Erich Ludendorff
German Empire Karl von Einem
German Empire Bruno von Mudra
German Empire Max von Boehn
German Empire Johannes von Eben
Strength
44 French divisions
8 American divisions
4 British divisions
4 Russian divisions
2 Italian divisions
Total:
58 divisions
408 heavy guns
360 field batteries
346 tanks
52 divisions
609 heavy guns
1,047 field batteries
Casualties and losses
French Third Republic 95,165
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 16,552
United States 12,000
Kingdom of Italy 9,334
168,000 casualties (including 29,367 captured)
793 guns lost[2]

The Second Battle of the Marne (French: Seconde Bataille de la Marne; 15 – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack failed when an Allied counterattack, led by French forces and supported by several hundreds of Renault FT tanks, overwhelmed the Germans on their right flank, inflicting severe casualties. The German defeat marked the start of the relentless Allied advance which culminated in an armistice with Germany about 100 days later.

  1. ^ Keith Hart (1982). "A Note on the Military Participation of Siam in WWI" (PDF). Journal of the Siam Society. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. ^ Peter Hart, The Last Battle: Victory, Defeat, and the End of World War I, p. 22.