#world-war-ii

#world-war-ii

WWII began with most naval powers still believing the battleship ruled the seas. Fleets were built around heavily armored ships with massive guns meant to destroy enemy navies in decisive surface battles. By the war's end, that thinking had changed dramatically. Aircraft carriers could strike targets hundreds of miles away, while submarines choked off supply lines across entire oceans.

The German Spring Offensive, also called the Ludendorff Offensive after its commander, was the last major German advance of the First World War (1914-18). From March to July 1918, Ludendorff launched five major attacks on the Western Front to break the deadlock of trench warfare. The Allied resistance, use of tanks, and massive reserves, along with German logistical failures, meant that the offensives, despite each starting well, eventually petered out.