?The German defeat in World War One

The following are first hand quotes and diary extracts in relation to the German defeat and loss of discipline in the First World War. They are taken from Paul Allens book "Neath a foreign sky."

Extract: Amiens 1918

Completely taken by surprise by the Allied assault on the eighth of August [which had made an advance of around nine miles], by nightfall the Germans had lost between 27,000 and 28,000 officers and men, whilst the Allies had suffered fewer than 9,000 casualties. In his memoirs Ludendorff would later describe the day as ?the blackest day of the German army?, and would go on to describe;

?The report of the staff officer I sent to the battlefield as to the condition of those divisions which had met the first shock of the attack of the 8TH perturbed me deeply. I summoned divisional commanders from the line to Avesnes to discuss events with them in detail. I was told not of deeds glorious valour, but of behaviour, which I openly confess, I should not have thought possible in the German Army; whole bodies of our men had surrendered to single troopers or isolated squadrons. Retiring troops, meeting a fresh division going into action had shouted out things like ?blackleg? and ?you?re prolonging the war?, expressions that were to be heard again later. The officers in many places had lost their influence and allowed themselves to be swept along with the rest?Everything I had feared, and of which I had so often given warning, had here, in one place, become a reality. Our war machine was no longer efficient??

Extract: German loss of discipline

During the early hours of Thursday the 25TH of April 1918 in Flanders, the Germans had launched what was to be the final major offensive of ?Operation Georgette?. As one can imagine by this time, after ten days of fighting and constant movement, the steam had begun to run out of the German assault. Apart from Ludendorff?s men becoming increasingly exhausted and disillusioned, they had also been slowed down by the discovery of vast dumps of food and stores which had been left behind by the departing British, and stocks of food and other commodities which had been left in village shops after their owners had fled. A German soldier would later describe:

?On the other side of the street was a large market and grocery store. Other soldiers had entered there already. The place was filled with ham, sausages, cans of delicacies and white bread Duty was forgotten. More soldiers piled in bringing with them bottles of wine and beer. Outside in the street whistles shrilled. The officers were trying to assemble their men again, but nobody paid any heed. Different regiments were arriving by now, but they too followed our example and pretty soon the whole town was filled with men, who probably for the first time in long years, lost the respect Prussian discipline...[1]

[1] Meisel F.; Department of Documents, Imperial War Museum, London. Extracted from ?1918 the unexpected victory?; Johnson J.H.; Cassell military paperbacks; Cassell & Co.; 1997.