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A French Schneider 105mm L from La Musée de la Grande Guerre du Pays de Meaux, France. First put into service in late 1915, 1,300 of the guns were in service in 1918. A heavier weapon than the French 75, it was more effective against entrenched troops. © 2014 John M. Shea
Islamic Headstones in Cerny-en-Laonnois Cemetery, France for Douro Koudiougou, killed April 17, 1917, and Sarkou Modey, with no known date of death. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Detail from the Basque Memorial, Chemin des Dames, Craonnelle, France.
The Great Double Event, September 24, 1916. On the night of September 23/24, 1916, two Zeppelins of a raiding party of twelve airships were brought down: L.32 with all its crew east-northeast of London near Billericay, and L.33 in Essex. The crew of the latter all survived, as did the frame of their Zeppelin.
French headstones in the military corner of the cemetery of the village of Ostel, France. The village was recaptured by French forces in the Second Battle of the Aisne. The headstones date from April and May, 1917. © 2014 by John M. Shea
"Two days later, the 14th [April, 1917], the same orders for departure, and same counterorder, but on the 15th we left Aulnay for good. We passed through Jalons-les-Vignes, where I didn't see even a stump [of vignes (vine stocks)], and the regiment came to billet at the village of Isse, where we spent just one night. Finding myself in too tight a space in this encampment, I climbed onto a pile of fodder, where I slept rather badly, because there were thistles in large number and their little barbs pricked my skin disagreeably, which left a piercing recollection of Isse—the only one, by the way.The next day, April 16th, the regiment left Isse at dawn, to head for the front where the cannonade was raging." ((1), more)
"The artillery battle has become extremely violent during the night over all the front between Soissons and Rheims." ((2), more)
"Our morale was excellent as we crossed the parapet. Nothing could stop us: [in our minds] we'd already reached Caronne, California Plateau, the Ailette, which we would cross with thick ropes to make sure no one drowned. What a disappointment! What slaughter! From the start of the first phase — the plan had six of them — the machine-guns stopped us dead. Within ten or fifteen minutes the company had been cut to pieces; among the dead, many veterans of Verdun and the Somme." ((3), more)
"I respectfully inform you that the tank attack of 16 April has passed the second German line between the Miette and the Mauchamps farm by a very short distance only . . . Many tanks of my squadron and the squadron of captain Pardon, operating between the Miette and Mauchamps, have been set on fire by shells. Concerning squadrons 4, 5, 9, I also saw many tanks burning. Major Bossut is among the dead." ((4), more)
"Georges Gaudy (57th Infantry) and his comrades were at the front near Vassonge on 17 April when they began to realize that things were going wrong:'We were shaken awake. Every man stood up and rubbed his eyes. It was raining now and the snow had melted. We heard whispers that the regiment was returning to the rear . . . The battalion marched in silence down unfamiliar tracks . . . passed by troops going up to the line. Why were they going up when we were coming down? . . . That's when our misery overwhelmed us. We didn't speak for fear of bursting into tears. We no longer thought for fear of understanding what was going on. Somewhere within our ranks a voice groaned, 'It's never going to end, never!''" ((5), more)
(1) Excerpt from the notebooks of French Infantry Corporal Louis Barthas whose regiment was marching to the front to play a role in the Nivelle Offensive that began April 16, 1917. Nivelle had delayed the offensive — the 'same orders for departure, the same counterorder' that Barthas refers to first occurred on April 12 — in part due to bad weather. Isse is approximately 35km southeast of Rheims, France.
Poilu: The World War I Notebooks of Corporal Louis Barthas, Barrelmaker, 1914-1918 by Louis Barthas, page 309, copyright © 2014 by Yale University, publisher: Yale University Press, publication date: 2014
(2) A French Army morning communiqué released at 2:00 P.M. on April 16, 1917, the opening day of the Nivelle Offensive. The day was a disaster for the French.
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 142, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
(3) Corporal Jean Portes of the French 1st Infantry describing his company's destruction in the opening minutes of the Nivelle Offensive, April 16, 1917. The battles of Verdun and the Somme, the two great Western Front battles of 1916, the first the French defense against the German assault on Verdun, the second the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme River. The Nivelle Offensive began with a British offensive at Arras, begun on April 9. The Second Battle of the Aisne was the French component. Despite the stalling of the British at Arras, the morale of French soldiers was reported to be high, but it was dashed by the failure of their attack in its first minutes and hours.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner, page 149, copyright © Ian Sumner 2012, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2012
(4) The French first used the Schneider CA1 tank in the Nivelle Offensive. Because the terrain of the first and second German lines was so dug up by artillery fire, the tanks were to be used for attacking the third and fourth lines. The Bossut group supporting the Fifth Army Corps had to cross a bridge at the Miette River in a column before regrouping on the other side.
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 150, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
(5) French Commander Robert Nivelle launched the Second Battle of the Aisne on April 16, 1917 after several days of delay, due to poor weather including snow. The attack against the heights of Chemin des Dames was the French component of his spring offensive, the British being the Battle of Arras begun April 9. After a successful first day, the British stalled. Attacking uphill, in rain and snow, against well-entrenched troops, in the confusion Georges Gaudy describes, the French, whose morale was reported to be high, saw little but failure.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner, pp. 153–154, copyright © Ian Sumner 2012, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2012
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