D.III. However, his newly arrived pilots did not have time to upgrade to their new Fokker Dr.Is. They would go into battle in their old machinery. Operation Michael Preliminary orders for JG II charged them with gaining aerial dominance on the left flank of the scheduled attack. The German spring offensive was launched on 21 March 1918, in a heavy fog that restricted air operations. On 22 March, Berthold gave the eulogy for Buddecke in Berlin. When Berthold returned to his command on 23 March, a victory-less JG II was being ordered to "deploy all available forces immediately". For the latter part of March 1918, the wing did just that as it fought the Allied fighters and followed the advancing German assault troops. As the ground attack sputtered into a stalemate, JG II moved forward 40 miles (64 km) after eight days to occupy the former British airfield of Balâtre. April 1918 saw an attempt by the Germans to restart their offensive, with its aim of splitting apart the French and British armies. As the ground combat churned on through the evening of the 5th, the fighting above it intensified. JG II continued to fight and down enemy aircraft and observation balloons. In turn, British bombers ineffectively struck Balâtre on several occasions. Also, on 10 April, Jasta 13 lost its commander; Leutnant Walter Göttsch was killed in action. Bombardment Several other jagdstaffelln shared Balâtre with JG II; there were a total of about 150 German aircraft quartered on the field. However, an Allied high altitude air raid at noon on 11 April did little to discomfit the Germans. On 12 April, just after "lights out" at 2230 hours, the first shells hit Balâtre. As a French artillery spotter circled overhead calling the shots, the men of JG II sought cover in bunkers and slit trenches. By bombardment's end at 0530 hours of 13 April, some 200 shells had raked the airfield. Although JG II suffered no fatalities, it had 25 aircraft destroyed or damaged; its hangars, barracks, and maintenance facilities were also much damaged by fire and explosion. The wing was basically out of action for the next three weeks. Lull in air activity During this quiet spell, Berthold wrote a letter home on 25 April 1918. He stated his determination to fly again. He also confided his suspicions that three of his squadron commanders were plotting his removal from