In 1918, Germany launched a final series of major offensives on the Western Front in an attempt to win before American power fully arrived. These attacks gained ground at first but failed to achieve decisive victory.

The Allies then responded with the Hundred Days Offensive, a sustained campaign that pushed German forces back. Germany’s military position weakened, its allies began to collapse, and unrest grew at home.

By autumn, the Central Powers were falling apart. On 11 November 1918, the armistice ended the fighting on the Western Front. The war was over, but Europe had been transformed by destruction, loss, and political upheaval.

Key themes for 1918:

• Germany’s spring offensives
• The Allied counterattack
• Collapse of the Central Powers
• The armistice of 11 November
• The war’s immediate aftermath