Second Battle of the Aisne
Part of World War I
The Western Front in 1917
Date 16 April – 9 May 1917 Location Aisne River near Paris, France Result Operation failed, German tactical victory
Combatants
France	German Empire
Commanders
Robert Nivelle Charles Mangin François Anthoine Mazel	von Boehm Fritz von Below
Strength
1.2 million, 7,000 guns	Just over 1 million.
Casualties
Over 187,000	About 168,000

The Second Battle of the Aisne, in 1917 was the main action of the French Nivelle Offensive during World War I. It ended in disaster for both the French army and its commander Robert Nivelle, destroying his career and sparking widespread mutiny in the army. Nivelle instigated the plan in December 1916 after he replaced Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French army. Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1144x1110, 1807 KB) Summary Map of The Western Front in 1917. ... Western Front was a term used during the First and Second World Wars to describe the contested armed frontier between lands controlled by Germany to the East and the Allies to the West. ... April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Aisne is a river in France, tributary of the river Oise. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Location Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région ÃŽle-de-France Département Paris (75) Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Mayor Bertrand Delanoë  (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_German_Empire. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Polish (Posen, Lower Silesia,Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871... Robert Georges Nivelle (October 15, 1857 - March 22, 1924) was a French military commander during World War I. Born in Tulle, France, to a French father and English mother, Nivelle graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1878 and served in Indochina, Algeria, and China as an artillery officer. ... Charles Mangin (1866-1925) was a French military officer during World War I. A graduate of Saint-Cyr, Mangin served in the Sudan (under Jean Marchand) and in French North Africa before serving in WWI. During WWI, he had well-known victories at Charleroi and then Verdun, however, his reputation... François Paul Anthoine was born in 1860 and died in 1944. ... Fritz Wilhelm Theodor Karl von Below (1853-1918) was a commander in the German Army during the First World War. ... The Nivelle Offensive was a 1917 Allied attack on the Western Front in World War I. The offensive was a costly failure. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... Robert Georges Nivelle (October 15, 1857 - March 22, 1924) was a French military commander during World War I. Born in Tulle, France, to a French father and English mother, Nivelle graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1878 and served in Indochina, Algeria, and China as an artillery officer. ... Mutiny is the act of conspiring to disobey an order that a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) is legally obliged to obey. ... Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (January 12, 1852 - January 3, 1931) was a Catalan French general who became prominent in the battles of World War I. Joffre was born in Rivesaltes, Roussillon. ... The French Army (Armée de Terre) is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces. ...

Background

When he took over from Joffre, Nivelle argued that a massive onslaught against the German lines would bring French victory in 48 hours. He genuinely believed the Germans were too bloodied from the quagmires of Verdun and the Somme to offer an effective, sustained defence, especially if it were preceded by a large-scale diversionary attack by the British. Combatants France German Empire Commanders Philippe Pétain Robert Nivelle Erich von Falkenhayn Strength About 30,000 on 21 February 1916 About 150,000 on 21 February 1916 Casualties 378,000; of whom 120,000 died 337,000; of whom 100,000 died The Battle of Verdun, fought from 21... Combatants British Empire Australia Canada New Zealand Newfoundland South Africa United Kingdom France German Empire Commanders Douglas Haig Joseph Joffre Max von Gallwitz Fritz von Below Strength 13 British & 11 French divisions (initial) 51 British and 48 French divisions (final) 10. ...

The French War Minister, Hubert Lyautey, and Chief of Staff General Henri-Philippe Pétain, along with British Commander-in-Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, were all strongly opposed to this plan. However the French Prime Minister, Aristide Briand, supported Nivelle and the war minister resigned in protest. Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (1854 - 1934), made Marshal of France in 1921, was the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. ... Philippe Pétain Marshal Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain, was a French soldier and Head of State of Vichy France, from 1940 to 1944. ... Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (June 19, 1861 - January 28, 1928) was a British soldier and senior commander during World War I. He had independent wealth: his family manufactured Haig & Haig whisky. ... Aristide Briand (March 28, 1862 – March 7, 1932) was a French statesman who served several terms as Prime Minister of France and won the Nobel Peace Prize. ...

The Nivelle Offensive was to be a vast operation, involving around 1.2 million troops and 7,000 guns on a broad front between Roye and Reims. Its primary focus was a massive assault on the German positions along the Aisne river. Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ... Aisne is a département in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River. ...

The plan, which had been in development since December 1916, was plagued by delays and information leaks. By the time the offensive began in April 1917, its details were well-known to the Germans, who had ample time to take appropriate defensive measures.

Battle

On 16 April 1917, after a week of diversionary attacks by the British at Arras, nineteen divisions of the French 5th and 6th armies, led by Mazel and Charles Mangin, attacked the German line along an 80 km stretch from Soissons to Reims. Situated on the high ground on the banks of the Aisne River, the German 7th army (under von Boehm) had little difficulty holding their positions. On the first day of combat alone, the French suffered over 40,000 casualties and lost 76 Char Schneider tanks, which made their debut in this battle. Nivelle's creeping barrage was poorly executed and thus failed to cover the advance. April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Battle of Arras took place from 9 April to 16 May 1917. ... Charles Mangin (1866-1925) was a French military officer during World War I. A graduate of Saint-Cyr, Mangin served in the Sudan (under Jean Marchand) and in French North Africa before serving in WWI. During WWI, he had well-known victories at Charleroi and then Verdun, however, his reputation... Soissons is a town and commune in the Aisne département, Picardie, France, located on the Aisne River, about 60 miles northeast of Paris. ... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ... Aisne is a river in France, tributary of the river Oise. ... The Schneider CA1 was the first French tank. ... Rolling barrage is a military tactic in which massed artillery support an infantry advance by firing continuously at positions just in front of the advancing troops. ...

German trenches on the Aisne.

On the second day, the French 4th army, led by François Anthoine, launched an attack east of Reims towards Moronvilliers. Fritz von Below's German 1st army easily repelled this assault. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x747, 125 KB) Summary en: German Trenches on the Aisne during the Second Battle of the Aisne, that in 1917 was the main action of the French Nivelle Offensive during World War I. de: Deutsche Schützengräben an der Aisne... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x747, 125 KB) Summary en: German Trenches on the Aisne during the Second Battle of the Aisne, that in 1917 was the main action of the French Nivelle Offensive during World War I. de: Deutsche Schützengräben an der Aisne... François Paul Anthoine was born in 1860 and died in 1944. ... Reims (English traditionally Rheims) (pronounced in French) is a city of northern France, 144 km (89 miles) east-northeast of Paris. ... In 1911, the small village of Moronvilliers had only 86 inhabitants. ... Fritz Wilhelm Theodor Karl von Below (1853-1918) was a commander in the German Army during the First World War. ...

Nivelle, refusing to believe his strategy had failed, continued to order full-scale attacks until 20 April 1917. Some small gains were made by Mangin to the west of Soissons and although the assault was scaled back over the next few weeks, by 5 May 1917, a 4 km stretch of the Chemin des Dames Ridge had been captured. Incongruously, these smaller, scaled-back attacks proved more successful than the earlier, larger ones. April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Soissons is a town and commune in the Aisne département, Picardie, France, located on the Aisne River, about 60 miles northeast of Paris. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Chemin des Dames, literally, the Ladies Way, was a pleasure walk along a ridge offering views across the Aisne and the surrounding landscape, and designated by the French king, Louis XV for the amusement of his daughters. ...

Aftermath

The operation achieved very little in the way of territorial gain and was nowhere near the 48 hour break-through envisaged.

On 3 May the French 2nd Division refused to follow its orders to attack, and this mutiny soon spread throughout the army (see this link ). Following a final, ineffective four-day assault, the Nivelle Offensive was abandoned in disarray on 9 May 1917. May 3 is the 123rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (124th in leap years). ... Combatants Belgium, British Empire, France, United States, other Western Allies of WWI Germany Commanders No unified command until 1918, then General Ferdinand Foch Kaiser Wilhelm II Casualties ~4,800,000 Unknown though considerably higher Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the German army opened the Western... The Nivelle Offensive was a 1917 Allied attack on the Western Front in World War I. The offensive was a costly failure. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

Although the Germans lost around 168,000, the French suffered over 187,000 casualties. The politicians and public were stunned by the chain of events in this tragedy of errors and, a week later, on 16 May Nivelle was finally sacked and moved to North Africa. He was replaced by the considerably more cautious Pétain, who made no attempts to commit his forces to large scale offensives. Henceforth the main burden of allied offensive efforts on the Western Front, would fall upon British Empire forces and the soon-to-arrive American Expeditionary Force. May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... Philippe Pétain Marshal Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain, was a French soldier and Head of State of Vichy France, from 1940 to 1944. ... For most of World War I, Allied Forces, predominantly those of France and the United Kingdom, were stalled at trenches on the Western Front. ... Officers of the American Expeditionary Forces and the Baker mission The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF was the United States military force in World War I. The AEF helped the French defend the Western Front during the Aisne Offensive in May. ...

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Battle of the Aisne

• Evans, M. M. (2004). Battles of World War I. Select Editions. ISBN 1-84193-226-4.