As winter ended in 1917, the Allies found themselves in a tight spot on the Western Front. The Germans had launched their spring offensive to devastating effect on March 21, cleaving a precarious gap between the French and British armies. Though the Germans fell short of reaching their ambitious plan to penetrate deep into Allied lines and shatter their cohesion, they dealt a staggering blow nonetheless: The campaign put Amiens -- a city just 115 kilometers (72 miles) north of Paris -- in peril and inflicted serious losses on the Allied forces. French and British troops tried to retaliate in mid-April with the Nivelle offensive. But the operation, which lasted until May 9, was a catastrophe. Not only did the offensive fail to meet its objectives, but it also devastated morale, and mass mutinies cropped up across the beleaguered French army.
To make matters worse, Germany had resumed its campaign of...
