Atlas of Battles

battle, major, First World War

Operation Michael

Operation Michael was a battle fought on 21 March 1918 at Hauts-de-France, in what is now France; it lasted 15 days. It was part of the Western Front, which ran from 1914 to 1918. The recorded result: See Aftermath section. Recorded strength: 72 divisions against 26 divisions; 3 cavalry; 23 French divisions.

See it on the globe Read the article

Karte: Operation Michael innerhalb der deutschen Frühjahrsoffensive 1918
Karte: Operation Michael innerhalb der deutschen Frühjahrsoffensive 1918. Milgesch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought21 March 1918lasted 15 days
WhereHauts-de-France, France49.850N, 3.283E
OutcomeSee Aftermath section
BelligerentsGerman EmpireagainstBritish Empire; Australia; Canada; Dominion of New Zealand; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; French Third Republic; United States
Casualties and losses239,800and254,816; 177,739; 77,000; 77
Part ofWestern Front1914 to 1918

Where it sits in the Western Front

Siege of Antwerp, 1914Battle of St. Quentin, 1914Battle of Liège, 1914Battle of Mangiennes, 1914Battle of Haelen, 1914Battle of Lorraine, 1914Battle of Sarrebourg, 1914Siege of Namur, 1914Battle of Charleroi, 1914Battle of the Ardennes, 1914Battle of Rossignol, 1914Battle of Mons, 1914Siege of Maubeuge, 1914Burning of Louvain, 1914Battle of Le Cateau, 1914Battle of Le Grand Fayt, 1914Battle of Étreux, 1914Ovillers-la-Boisselle in World War I, 1914Battle of Grand Couronné, 1914Battle of the Two Morins, 1914Battle of Multien, 1914Battle of the Frontiers, 1914First Battle of the Marne, 1914Battle of Flirey, 1914Battle of Albert, 1914Battle of Buggenhout, 1914First Battle of Picardy, 1914First Battle of the Aisne, 1914Battle of La Bassée, 1914Battle of Messines, 1914Battle of Armentières, 1914Battle of the Yser, 1914First Battle of Ypres, 1914First Battle of Artois, 1914First Battle of Champagne, 1914Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf, 1915Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 1915Second Battle of Ypres, 1915Battle of Kitcheners' Wood, 1915Battle of Hill 60, 1915Second Battle of Artois, 1915Battle of Aubers Ridge, 1915Battle of Hébuterne, 1915Third Battle of Artois, 1915Second Battle of Champagne, 1915Battle of Loos, 1915Action of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, 1915Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 1916Battle of Albert, 1916Battle of Verdun, 1916Battle of Caures Woods, 1916Hohenzollern Redoubt, 1916Storming of Fort Vaux, 1916Battle of Mont Sorrel, 1916Battle of the Boar's Head, 1916Battle of the Somme, 1916First day on the Somme, 1916Leipzig salient, 1916Capture of La Boisselle, 1916Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916Battle of Bazentin Ridge, 1916Capture of Ovillers, 1916Battle of Fromelles, 1916Battle of Delville Wood, 1916Battle of Guillemont, 1916Capture of Martinpuich, 1916Battle of Thiepval Ridge, 1916Battle of Morval, 1916Battle of Mouquet Farm, 1916Capture of Combles, 1916Battle of the Ancre Heights, 1916Battle of Le Transloy, 1916Capture of Regina Trench, 1916Battle of the Ancre, 1916Operations on the Gheluvelt Plateau, July–August 1917, 1917Battle of Langemarck, 1917Battle of Arras, 1917Second Battle of the Aisne, 1917Battle of the Hills, 1917Battle of Messines, 1917Third Battle of Ypres, 1917Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 1917Capture of Westhoek, 1917Action of the Cockcroft, 19 August 1917, 1917Action of 22 August 1917, 1917Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 1917Capture of Wurst Farm, 1917Battle of Polygon Wood, 1917Battle of Broodseinde, 1917Battle of Poelcappelle, 1917First Battle of Passchendaele, 1917Battle of La Malmaison, 1917Second Battle of Passchendaele, 1917Battle of Cambrai, 1917Night action of 1/2 December 1917, 1917Attack on the Polderhoek Spur, 1917Second Battle of the Somme, 1918Battle of Soissons, 1918Operation Michael, 1918First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 1918Battle of the Lys, 1918Battle of Seicheprey, 1918Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 1918Second Battle of the Marne, 1918Third Battle of the Aisne, 1918Combats of Michelbach, 1918Battle of Hamel, 1918Battle of Amiens, 1918Battle of the Ailette, 1918Battle of the Scarpe, 1918Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, 1918Second Battle of Bapaume, 1918Battle of Havrincourt, 1918Battle of Épehy, 1918Battle of the Canal du Nord, 1918Fifth Battle of Ypres, 1918Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, 1918Battle of Courtrai, 1918Battle of the Lys and the Escaut, 1918Battle of the Selle, 191819141918Operation Michael, 1918
121 placed engagements of the Western Front in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date21 March 1918
to 5 April 1918
PlaceHauts-de-France, France
49.850N, 3.283E
KindBattle, First World War
Territorial changeGermans penetrate British lines up to 40 while seizing 1200 of territory
Strength72 divisions26 divisions; 3 cavalry; 23 French divisions
Casualties and losses239,800254,816; 177,739; 77,000; 77
Commanders
Operation MichaelOperation MichaelBattle of Saint-QuentinBattle of St. QuentinBattle of St. QuentinBattle of St. Quentin CanalSiege of Le CateletBattle of Saint-QuentinBattle of St. Quentin CanalSiege of Le CateletBrusselsLilleRouenCharleroiReimsCalaisVersaillesLiège100 km49.850N, 3.283E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Operation Michael
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Operation Michael today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-17. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 104 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 62 to 152 m, 90 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 38% built-up, 28% tree cover, 24% cropland.

built-up: 38%tree cover: 28%cropland: 24%grassland: 10%built-up 38%tree cover 28%cropland 24%grassland 10%
west to east, 10.0 km72 to 121 mnorth to south, 10.0 km69 to 123 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 4 times between 1557 and 1918.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1918

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: GER 2ND, 17TH & 18TH ARMIESDefender: BR 1ST(-), 3RD & 5TH (4TH) ARMIES
Strength700,000600,000
Casualties133,000 (19.0%)140,000 (23.3%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1055
Outcomedrawn
Duration2 days
Front width140 km140 km
Attacker advanced28 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 331), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Operation Michael is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,383 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q152008, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Operation Michael, revision 1370693789, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.