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Western Front: 1915 – 1917: Stalemate
Operations in 1917
1. Nivelle's Offensive
2. Battle
of Arras
3. Battle
of Messines
4. Third
Battle of Ypres
5. French
Victories
6. Battle
of Cambrai
Nivelle's Offensive
Meanwhile, Nivelle had put into operation plans differing
vastly from Joffre's cautious program. His theory was that what could
be and had been done on a small scale could be done on the greatest
scale yet envisaged in the war. The chief component of his tactics was
lightning speed, but his gunner's eye showed him exactly how far he
must go in the first rush after his colossal bombardment was over: the
line of the enemy's field batteries. The second component was surprise.
Such reserves as the enemy could bring into the breach were to be destroyed,
after which the huge French reserve would push forward.
There must, however, be a single great diversionary
attack, and this was allotted to the British. Through a secret agreement
with the French government, made at Calais without the knowledge of
his own commander in chief, the new prime minister, Lloyd George, had
arranged to place Haig under Nivelle's orders. Nivelle interpreted this
as making Haig no more than an adjutant and quartermaster general, looking
after his troops and serving as an intermediary between the British
government and the French commander. This arrangement was subsequently
modified so that Haig retained absolute command of the British Army
and had the right to appeal against French orders if he considered that
they placed him in peril, but he remained suspicious.
Everything else that could well go wrong did so. The
retreat of the Germans to the strong defensive position of the Hindenburg
Line, which was completed by April, was disregarded by Nivelle, although
it placed at their disposal large reserves. Carelessness which involved
the German capture of two vital documents in trench raids revealed the
exact boundaries of the attack between Reims and Soissons. The army
group commander, Gen. Joseph Alfred Micheler, who had been chosen by
Nivelle because Petain disapproved of the plan, finally disapproved
of it just as heartily.
Nevertheless, the attack, in what became known as the
Second Battle of the Aisne, began on a grand scale on April 16. The
troops of Generals Mangin and Olivier C. A. A. Mazel dashed forward
with gallantry and confidence, but German machine guns soon called at
least a partial halt to the advance. This had been a commonplace in
previous battles, but it was fatal to the new theories of Nivelle. Moreover,
many of the 200 French tanks were destroyed. On the following day; Nivelle
achieved a substantial success when the enemy was driven from the Fort
Malmaison salient for a gain of two and one-half miles, and though this
could be described as a voluntary withdrawal, it involved the loss of
a great quantity of German artillery. Finally, however, the continuation
of the offensive was postponed by the French cabinet until May, when
it failed again. Meanwhile, on April 29, Petain was appointed chief
of the General Staff, and on May 15 he superseded Nivelle, being himself
replaced by Foch, who came out of retirement to serve as chief of staff.
There has been much dispute about French losses in the offensive, Nivelle's
bitterest opponents alleging that they were actually twice as large
as the figures announced. The probability, however, is that they were
not much higher than those listed in the French official history, or
96,000. The Germans lost 163,000 men. Their gains and the French losses
were augmented by the destruction of French morale in widespread mutinies.
The number of verdicts of guilty was 23,385, but only 55 men were shot.
The French Army was out of action for a considerable time.
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