General Joffre, Commander in Chief of the French Army, visits the Verdun front. The card is from the summer of 1916 when the Battle of Verdun was in its fifth month. The caption on the reverse says Joffre then knew the Allies had victory in their hands, a victory that would not come for more than two years.
General Joffre visits the Verdun front.Reverse:Official Photograph of La Section Photographique de l'Armée Française issued by Newspaper Illustrations Ltd., 161a, Strand, W.C.General Joffre visits the Verdun front.—'Papa Joffre,' as he is affectionately termed by every French soldier, its the idol of the Army. He knows and now says the Allies have victory in their hands. The five months' heroic defence of Verdun has definitely turned the scales in their favor.
"— The 16th. The 'reduced' Ministry was published on the 13th. Albert Thomas, Minister of Munitions, is going to occupy vast premises, since he requires 250 rooms.— This is how Joffre learned of his removal from command. They had promised that he would retain all his power, but was simply being transferred to Paris. General Nivelle informed him that he, Nivelle, was henceforth under the direct orders of the Minister for War. Joffre no longer counted."
Entries for December 16, 1916 from the diary of Michel Corday, French senior civil servant. December, 1916 saw the conquest of Romania and the occupation of its capital Bucharest, the fall of the Asquith Government in Great Britain and the creation of a new government under David Lloyd George, peace proposals from Germany and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, and the removal of French Commander in Chief Joseph Joffre, and his replacement by Robert Nivelle. The Government of Aristide Briand in France had survived only by making significant changes, including ousting Joffre. General Nivelle's success in recapturing territory lost during the Battle of Verdun with few losses, offered a promise that Joffre, with little to show for over two years of horrendous casualties, could not match.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 219, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
1916-12-16, 1916, December, Joseph Joffre, Joffre, Nivelle, Robert Nivelle
