battle of the Chemin-des-Dames n 1: a battle in World War I (May 1918); the Germans tried to attack before the American numbers were too great to defeat; the tactical success of the Germans proved to be a strategic failure [syn: {Soissons}, {battle of Soissons- Reims}, {battle of the Chemin-des-Dames}, {battle of the Aisne}]