TheCodeBreakers
The thin Allied
lines could not hold against a massive piledriver blow concentrated on a
single point. If Ludendorff could gain the same surprise that he had so
successfully achieved in each previous assault, he
could puncture the Allied defenses, overrun Paris, and perhaps end
the war. The Allies' only hope of stopping him was to absorb his thrust
head-on with their reserves. But to do this they had to know where to
send them.
The French discussed the possibilities. Would Luden-dorff lunge out
directly for Paris from the tip of one of his salients despite the danger to
their flanks? Or would he first flatten out the large dent between those
bulges and then drive forward from a consolidated position? If the latter,
where in the huge pocket would he strike? No one knew.
Ludendorff, meanwhile, was having troubles of his own. German
military doctrine called for a sudden, intense artillery bombardment to
paralyze the defenders before the infantry attacked
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