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 World War I, 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 ofWorld War ISpring Offensive

Where it sits in World War I

Siege of Antwerp, 1914Battle of Łódź, 1914Battle of St. Quentin, 1914Russian invasion of East Prussia, 1914Battle of Kraśnik, 1914Battle of Arras, 1914Battle of Rawa, 1914Battle of Krzywopłoty, 1914Battle of Bzurą 1914, 1914U-boat campaign, 1914naval warfare of World War I, 1914Bombardment of Belgrade, 1914Serbian campaign, 1914naval warfare in the Mediterranean during World War I, 1914Battle of Kusseri, 1914Skirmish at Joncherey, 1914Battle of the Meuse, 1914East African Campaign, 1914Battle of Liège, 1914German invasion of Belgium (1914), 1914pursuit of Goeben and Breslau, 1914Kamerun campaign, 1914Togoland campaign, 1914Battle of Mangiennes, 1914Battle of Haelen, 1914Battle of Lorraine, 1914Battle of Lake Nyasa, 1914Battle of Cer, 1914Battle of Agbeluvhoe, 1914Battle of Antivari, 1914Battle of Stallupönen, 1914Battle of Sarrebourg, 1914Battle of Mörchingen and Dieuze, 1914Battle of Dornach, 1914Battle of Gumbinnen, 1914Siege of Namur, 1914Battle of Donon, 1914Battle of Charleroi, 1914Battle of the Ardennes, 1914Battle of Lai, 1914Battle of Río de Oro, 1914Battle of Rossignol, 1914Battle of Chra, 1914Battle of Virton, 1914Battle of Tannenberg, 1914Battle of Galicia, 1914Battle of Mons, 1914Siege of Maubeuge, 1914Action of Elouges, 1914Maziua raid, 1914Portuguese campaign in Mozambique, 1914Burning of Louvain, 1914Battle of Tepe, 1914Battle of Mulhouse, 1914Battle of Le Cateau, 1914Battle of Komarów, 1914Battle of the Trouée de Charmes, 1914Siege of Mora, 1914Battle of Le Grand Fayt, 1914Battle of Odensholm, 1914Siege of Tsingtao, 1914Battle of Étreux, 1914Battle of Heligoland Bight, 1914First Battle of Garua, 1914Battle of Gnila Lipa, 1914Action at Néry, 1914Battle of Augustów, 1914Ovillers-la-Boisselle in World War I, 1914Battle of Senlis, 1914Battle of Grand Couronné, 1914Battle of the Two Morins, 1914Battle of Multien, 1914Battle of the Frontiers, 1914Battle of Drina, 1914Battle of Nsanakong, 1914Battle of Vitry, 1914First Battle of the Masurian Lakes, 1914Fanning Raid, 1914First Battle of the Marne, 1914Battle of Bita Paka, 1914Siege of Toma, 1914South-West Africa campaign, 1914Siege of Przemyśl, 1914Battle of Flirey, 1914Battle of Zanzibar, 1914Battle of Ukoko, 1914Action of 22 September 1914, 1914Bombardment of Papeete, 1914Bombardment of Madras, 1914Battle of Albert, 1914Battle of Buggenhout, 1914Battle of Sandfontein, 1914First Battle of Picardy, 1914First Battle of the Aisne, 1914Battle of the Vistula River, 1914Battle of Rufiji Delta, 1914German campaign in Angola, 1914Battle of Monchy-au-Bois, 1914Battle of Jabassi, 1914Battle of La Bassée, 1914Battle of Messines, 1914Battle of Armentières, 1914Battle of the Yser, 1914Battle of Diksmuide, 1914Battle off Texel, 1914First Battle of Ypres, 1914Race to the Sea, 1914Naulila Incident, 1914First Battle of Edea, 1914Battle of Penang, 1914Caucasus campaign, 1914Battle of Kraków (1914), 1914Battle of Coronel, 1914Bergmann Offensive, 1914Battle of Tanga, 1914raid on Yarmouth, 1914Battle of Kilimanjaro, 1914Mesopotamian campaign, 1914Fao Landing, 1914Battle of Cocos, 1914Invasion of Cheikh Said, 1914Myth of Langemarck, 1914Battle of Basra, 1914Battle of Kolubara, 1914Defence of Festubert, 1914Persian Campaign, 1914Battle of Limanowa, 1914Carpathian Front, 1914submarine operations in the Dardanelles campaign, 1914second battle of Krakow, 1914Battle of Qurna, 1914Battle of the Falkland Islands, 1914Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby, 1914First Battle of Artois, 1914Battle of Naulila, 1914First Battle of Champagne, 1914Battle of Sarikamish, 1914Battle of Givenchy, 1914Battle of Łowczówek, 1914Battle of Ardahan, 1914Cuxhaven Raid, 1914Otranto Barrage, 1915Battle of Manzikert, 1915Battle of Kara Killisse, 1915Battle of the Bosporus, 1915Second Battle of Edea, 1915Battle of Jassin, 1915Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf, 1915Zeppelin air raid on Norfolk 19-20 January 1915, 1915Battle of Rafajlowa, 1915Battle of Dogger Bank, 1915Blantyre Raid, 1915Siege of Mbombwe, 1915Battle of Bolimów, 1915Raid on the Suez Canal, 1915Battle of Kakamas, 1915Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, 1915Battle of Vauquois, 1915Battles of Przasnysz, 1915naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, 1915Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 1915Battle of Más a Tierra, 1915Battle of Les Éparges, 1915Battle of Zwinin, 1915Battle of Shaiba, 1915Siege of Van, 1915Second Battle of Ypres, 1915Battle of Kitcheners' Wood, 1915Gallipoli Campaign, 1915Landing at Anzac Cove, 1915Landing at Cape Helles, 1915Battle of Kumkale, 1915Battle of Trekkopjes, 1915Second Attack on Anzac Cove, 1915First Battle of Krithia, 1915Battle of Krithia, 1915Battle of Gurin, 1915Battle off Noordhinder Bank, 1915First Battle of Jaunde, 1915Battle for Baby 700, 1915Second Battle of Krithia, 1915sinking of the RMS Lusitania, 1915Battle of Hill 60, 1915Second Battle of Artois, 1915Battle of Aubers Ridge, 1915Battle of Arras, 1915First Battle of Sidi Abu Arqoub, 1915Battle of Konary, 1915Third attack on Anzac Cove, 1915Battles of the Isonzo, 1915Bombardment of Ancona, 1915Battle of Monte Piana, 1915Battle of Festubert, 1915Battle for No.3 Post, 1915Second Battle of Garua, 1915Defense of Msho, 1915Battle of Amara, 1915Third Battle of Krithia, 1915Action of 8 June 1915, 1915Battle of Hill 383, 1915Battle of Chamba, 1915Battle of Hébuterne, 1915Charge of Rokitna, 1915Battle of Bukoba, 1915Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive, 1915First Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Battle of Gully Ravine, 1915Battle of Ngaundere, 1915Battle of Bitlis, 1915Battle of Otavi, 1915Battle of Åland Islands, 1915Narew Offensive, 1915Battle of Podgora, 1915Second Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Battle of Nasiriyah, 1915Battle of Jastków, 1915Landing at Suvla Bay, 1915Battle of Lone Pine, 1915Battle of Sari Bair, 1915Battle of Krithia Vineyard, 1915Battle of the Nek, 1915Battle of Chunuk Bair, 1915Siege of Novogeorgievsk, 1915Siege of Kovno, 1915Battle of the Gulf of Riga, 1915Battle of Hill 60 (Gallipoli), 1915Battle of Scimitar Hill, 1915Sventiany Offensive, 1915Great Retreat, 1915Battle of Molodechno, 1915Third Battle of Artois, 1915Baralong incidents, 1915Second Battle of Champagne, 1915Battle of Es Sinn, 1915Fall of Belgrade (1915), 1915Battle of Loos, 1915Second Battle of Jaunde, 1915Action of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, 1915Battle of Linge, 1915Battle of Baranovichi, 1915Operation Hamadan, 1915Third Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Battle of Niš (1915), 1915Battle of Banjo, 1915Morava Offensive, 1915Fourth Battle of the Isonzo, 1915Ovče Pole Offensive, 1915Battle of Ctesiphon, 1915Battle of Krivolak, 1915Battle of Kosturino, 1915Siege of Kut, 1915Great Retreat, 1915Serbian campaign, 1915Battle of Robat Karim, 1915Battle for Lake Tanganyika, 1915Battle of Durazzo, 1915Battle of Asiago, 1916Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 1916Battle of Albert, 1916Battle of Kostiuchnówka, 1916Battles of Çapakçur, 1916Battle of Ustechko (1916), 1916Action of 8 January 1916, 1916Actions of the Bluff, 1916, 1916Recapture of Fort Vaux, 1916Battle of Kilosa, 1916Battle of Mojkovac, 1916Battle of Sheikh Sa'ad, 1916Battle of Lovćen, 1916Erzurum Offensive, 1916Battle of Koprukoy, 1916Battle of Wadi, 1916Montenegrin Campaign, 1916Battle of Hanna, 1916Kermanshah Operation, 1916Trebizond Campaign, 1916Battle of Dogger Bank, 1916Battle of Salaita Hill, 1916Battle of Verdun, 1916Battle of Caures Woods, 1916Battle of Agagia, 1916Action of 29 February 1916, 1916Hohenzollern Redoubt, 1916Battle of Dujaila, 1916Fifth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Battle of Latema Nek, 1916Battle of Kahe, 1916First Battle of Ķekava, 1916Lake Naroch Offensive, 1916Actions of St Eloi Craters, 1916Battle of Katia, 1916Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft, 1916Gas attack at Hulluch, 1916Battle of Kondoa Irangi, 1916Battle of Jutland, 1916Night action at the Battle of Jutland, 1916Storming of Fort Vaux, 1916Brusilov Offensive, 1916Battle of Lutsk, 1916Battle of Mkalamo, 1916Battle of Mont Sorrel, 1916Battle of the Boar's Head, 1916Battle of the Somme, 1916First day on the Somme, 1916Second Battle of Ķekava, 1916Leipzig salient, 1916Battle of Erzincan, 1916Capture of La Boisselle, 1916Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916Battle of Bazentin Ridge, 1916Capture of Ovillers, 1916Battle of Fromelles, 1916Battle of Kowel, 1916Baranovichi Offensive, 1916Battle of Romani, 1916Battle of Muş, 1916Sixth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Battle of Doberdò, 1916Battle of Doiran, 1916Battle of Bir el Abd, 1916Battle of Lerin, 1916Struma operation, 1916Action of 19 August 1916, 1916Battle of Mlali, 1916Tabora Offensive, 1916Battle of Turtucaia, 1916Battle of Delville Wood, 1916Battle of Pozières, 1916Battle of Guillemont, 1916Battle of Dobrich, 1916Battle of Kisaki, 1916Battle of Tabora, 1916Battle of Ginchy, 1916Battle of Dutumi, 1916Monastir Offensive, 1916Battle of Kajmakchalan, 1916Battle of Malka Nidzhe, 1916Seventh Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Capture of Martinpuich, 1916First Battle of Cobadin, 1916First Battle of Petrozsény, 1916Battle of Thiepval Ridge, 1916Battle of Morval, 1916Battle of Mouquet Farm, 1916Capture of Combles, 1916Flămânda Offensive, 1916Battle of the Ancre Heights, 1916Battle of Le Transloy, 1916Capture of Regina Trench, 1916Eighth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Romanian Army offensive in Transylvania in 1916, 1916Second Battle of Cobadin, 1916Battle of Dover Strait, 1916Ninth Battle of the Isonzo, 1916Battle of Matamondo, 1916Battle of the Ancre, 1916Battle of the Cerna Bend, 1916Battle of Robănești, 1916Prunaru Charge, 1916Noemvriana, 1916Battle of the Argeş, 1916Battle of Funchal, 1916Battle of Bucharest, 1916Battle of Kibata, 1916Battle of Magdhaba, 1916Kerensky Offensive, 1917Fall of Baghdad, 1917Battles of Ramadi, 1917Battle of Istrana, 1917Operations on the Gheluvelt Plateau, July–August 1917, 1917Battle of Langemarck, 1917Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Line, 1917United States Navy operations during World War- 1, 1917Battle of Oramar, 1917Battle of Beho Beho, 1917Battle of Rafa, 1917Operations on the Ancre, January – March 1917, 1917Raid on Bir el Hassana, 1917Raid on Nekhl, 1917Second Battle of Kut, 1917Action of 10 March 1917, 1917Battle of Nambanje, 1917Action of 16 March 1917, 1917Action of 17 March 1917, 1917Alberich, 1917First Battle of Gaza, 1917Battle of Toboly, 1917Sapigneul, 1917Scuttling of SMS Cormoran, 1917Battle of Vimy Ridge, 1917Battle of Arras, 1917Second Battle of the Aisne, 1917Second Battle of Gaza, 1917Battle of the Hills, 1917Battle of Rumbo, 1917Second Battle of Dover Strait, 1917Battle of Istabulat, 1917Battle of Doiran, 1917Samarrah Offensive, 1917Action of 4 May 1917, 1917Battle of the Cerna Bend, 1917Battle of Seray Mountain, 1917Nivelle Offensive, 1917Tenth Battle of the Isonzo, 1917Battle of the Strait of Otranto, 1917Operation Hush, 1917Battle of Messines, 1917Battle of Mount Ortigara, 1917Raid on Ruhnu (1917), 1917Battle of Zborov, 1917Bombing of Constantinople in World War I, 1917Battle of Narungombe, 1917Battle of Mărăşti, 1917Third Battle of Ypres, 1917Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 1917Second Battle of Oituz, 1917Capture of Westhoek, 1917Battle of Hill 70, 1917Eleventh Battle of the Isonzo, 1917Battle of Nurunyu, 1917Action of the Cockcroft, 19 August 1917, 1917Action of 22 August 1917, 1917Battle of Riga, 1917Battle of Jugla, 1917Battle of Mărășești, 1917Second Battle of Verdun, 1917Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 1917Capture of Wurst Farm, 1917Operation Albion, 1917Battle of Polygon Wood, 1917Battle of Broodseinde, 1917Battle of Poelcappelle, 1917Mahenge Offensive, 1917First Battle of Passchendaele, 1917Battle of Mahiwa, 1917Action off Lerwick, 1917Battle of Moon Sound, 1917Battle of La Malmaison, 1917Battle of Caporetto, 1917Second Battle of Passchendaele, 1917Battle of El Buggar Ridge, 1917Battle of Pozzuolo, 1917Battle of Beersheba, 1917Third Battle of Gaza, 1917Charge at Huj, 1917Battle of Mughar Ridge, 1917Battle of Ayun Kara, 1917Battle of Jerusalem, 1917Second Battle of Heligoland Bight, 1917Action of 17 November 1917, 1917Battle of Nebi Samwil, 1917Battle of Cambrai, 1917Battle of Ngomano, 1917First Battle of the Piave River, 1917Night action of 1/2 December 1917, 1917Attack on the Polderhoek Spur, 1917Action of 11–12 December 1917, 1917Battle of Jaffa, 1917Battle of Megiddo, 1918Battle of Abaran, 1918Battle of Karakilisa, 1918Second Battle of Cambrai, 1918Second Battle of the Somme, 1918Battle of St. Quentin Canal, 1918Battle of San Matteo, 1918Battle of Soissons, 1918Battle of Mastara, 1918Battle of the Three Mountains, 1918Battle of Imbros, 1918Battle of Galați, 1918Battle of Tafilah, 1918Bakar mockery, 1918Capture of Erzincan, 1918Battle of Rarańcza, 1918Action of 15 February 1918, 1918Operation Faustschlag, 1918Capture of Trabzon, 1918Ice Cruise of the Baltic Fleet, 1918Battle of Bakhmach, 1918Bombing of Naples, 1918Battle of Charah, 1918Battle of Erzurum, 1918Capture of Erzurum, 1918Spring Offensive, 1918Operation Michael, 1918Battle of Hijla, 1918First Battle of Amman, 19181918 bombardment of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais, 1918Battle of Moreuil Wood, 1918First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 1918First Transjordan attack on Amman, 1918Action of 4 April 1918, 1918Battle of the Avre, 1918Battle of the Lys, 1918Battle of Choloki, 1918Battle of Suldouze, 1918German bombing of Monrovia, 1918Battle of Ushno, 1918Battle of Markem, 1918Battle of Seicheprey, 1918Zeebrugge Raid, 1918First Ostend Raid, 1918Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 1918Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt, 1918Action of 8 May 1918, 1918Second Ostend Raid, 1918Battle of Kaniów, 1918Second Battle of Morlancourt, 1918Battle of Sardarabad, 1918Second Battle of the Marne, 1918Third Battle of the Aisne, 1918Battle of Cantigny, 1918Battle of Skra-di-Legen, 1918Battle of Belleau Wood, 1918Battle of Monte Grappa, 1918Combats of Michelbach, 1918Action of Arsuf, 1918Battle of Premuda, 1918Third Battle of Morlancourt, 1918Battle of Vorontsovka, 1918Sinking of ships of the Black Sea Fleet in Tsemes Bay, 1918Battle of the Piave River, 1918Battle of Karamaryan, 1918Battle of Goychay, 1918Battle of Kurdamir, 1918Battle of Hamel, 1918Battle of Salyan, 1918Battle of Abu Tellul, 1918Battle of Château-Thierry, 1918Attack on Orleans, 1918Battle of Amiens, 1918Battle of the Ailette, 1918Battle of Albert, 1918Battle of Baku, 1918Battle of the Scarpe, 1918Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, 1918Battle of Lioma, 1918Second Battle of Bapaume, 1918Action of 5 September 1918, 1918Battle of Saint-Mihiel, 1918Battle of Havrincourt, 1918Battle of Dobro Pole, 1918Battle of Doiran, 1918Battle of Épehy, 1918Battle of Tulkarm, 1918Battle of Arara, 1918Battle of Nablus, 1918Battle of Tabsor, 1918Battle of Nazareth, 1918Capture of Jisr ed Damieh, 1918Battle of Haifa, 1918Battle of Samakh, 1918Second Battle of Amman, 1918Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 1918Capture of Damascus, 1918Battle of the Canal du Nord, 1918Battle of Jisr Benat Yakub, 1918Fifth Battle of Ypres, 1918Porpoises' Battle, 1918Vardar Offensive, 1918Charge at Kaukab, 1918Charge at Kiswe, 1918Battle of Saint-Thierry, 1918German Caucasus Expedition, 1918Mediterranean U-boat Campaign, 1918Battle of Durazzo, 1918Charge at Khan Ayash, 1918Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, 1918Battle of Courtrai, 1918Battle of the Lys and the Escaut, 1918Battle of Sharqat, 1918Battle of Aleppo, 1918Battle of the Selle, 1918Charge at Haritan, 1918Liberation of Krakow, 1918Raid on Pula, 1918Battle of Vittorio Veneto, 1918Hundred Days Offensive, 1918Second Romanian Campaign of World War I, 1918Scuttling of the German Fleet in Scapa Flow, 1919Resistance of Hadjin, 1920Seventh Battle of Dazli, 1922Antwerp X, 194419141944Operation Michael, 1918
594 placed engagements of World War I 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 4,429 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,495 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.