27 May 1918
German attack begins with a four hour artillery bombardment in which they fire around two million shells, one of the most intense bombardments of the war. This is followed by an attack with seventeen divisions that smashes the Allied lines on the Chemin des Dames. The Germans advance thirteen miles on the first day of the battle, the single biggest advance since the start of trench warfare in 1914. They capture the bridges across the Aisne intact and begin to advance towards the Marne.
War in the Air
Death of Robert Little, Australia's leading fighter ace of the First World War. Late in the day he took off to attack a ground of Gotha bombers but was fatally wounded in the groin. His aircraft crashed and he wasn't found until the following morning.
Aisne 1918, David Blanchard.
Focuses on the first day of the battle, when a series of weakened British divisions in poor defensive positions were overwhelmed and the Allied line was temporarily broken. Based around a series of regimental histories of the fighting on that first day, followed by a shorter overview of the rest of the battle. Helps explain why the Germans were able to achieve such a dramatic breakthrough on the first day of the battle
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (3 January 2018), 27 May 1918, http://www.historyofwar.org/firstworldwar/daybyday/1918_05_27.html
