In March 1918 the German Army launched a series of sledgehammer blows against both the British and French sectors of the Western Front, driving the British back toward the Channel ports and the French toward Paris. Operation Michael was the first in a series of German attacks launched over the next several months intended to shatter Allied morale and force the Allies to agree to a peace settlement before the full impact of expanding American manpower made victory impossible. American Commander-in-Chief John J. Pershing found the Allied high command in disarray. Leaving a meeting with General Philippe Pétain on March 21, 1918, Pershing was surprised to learn that the situation along the British front was more serious than had been suggested. On March 25 Pershing met again with Pétain as rumors circulated that the French government had begun preliminary planning to abandon Paris for Bordeaux. Pétain admitted that he had ordered the headquarters moved to Chantilly and that Allied losses exceeded 150,000.
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