On 1 April 1918, military history was made as the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Service merged and became the Royal Air Force (RAF) – the world’s first independent air force.
This took place during some of the most bitter fighting of World War I. Soviet Russian forces had signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918, ending Russia’s participation in WWI. This allowed the German Army to transfer large numbers of men and their equipment from the Eastern to the Western Front.
On 21 March 1918, with 50 extra Divisions at his disposal, the Kaiser launched the Ludendorff Offensive. This attack enjoyed initial success, forcing the Allied Forces to retreat. Eleven days after the start of this offensive, and while involved in exhausting and costly action to stem the German advance, the RAF was formed.
