View from Chemin des Dames looking across the valley of the Ailette River towards Laon Cathedral in the city of Laon, France and barely visible in the distance. The Chapelle St. Berthe is down the slope in the near distance. Laon was one of the first-day objectives of French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle's offensive in the the Second Battle of the Aisne. © 2014 by John M. Shea
"The infantry suffered greatly during the Chemin des Dames offensive, although not because of insufficient artillery support. On 20 April the battle was quieter. General Mangin sent a report to the GQG insisting on gains, but Nivelle knew better: the German retreat had been orderly and French troops had never been able to out manoeuvre the enemy. However public opinion knew nothing of this and Mangin's self-propaganda was fairly clever: 'Over 12 kilometres along the Aisne, from Soupir to Missy-sur-Aisne, our line south of the river has advanced by 6 to 7 kilometres. The Condé redoubt (...), the villages of Chivy, Bray-en-Laonnais, Ostel, Chavonne, Vailly, Celles, Condé-sur-Aisne, Laffaux, Nanteuil-la-Fosse, Sancy, Jouy, Aisy, have fallen into our hands (...). The observation posts that the enemy had over the Aisne valley are now ours, along with others at Chemin-des-Dames, giving us views over the Ailette valley and beyond.'"
From its beginning on April 16, 1917, Robert Nivelle's offensive, the Second Battle of the Aisne — the Battle of Chemin des Dames — was a failure, certainly in light of the expectations Nivelle had raised. General Charles Mangin had also fought under Nivelle in the Battle of Verdun. He was called 'The Butcher.' The French crossed the Aisne River, and ultimately took the heights of Chemin des Dames ridge, but the Germans retreated across the Ailette River to the heights of Laon.
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 170, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
1917-04-20, Mangin, Ostel, 1917, April, Second Battle of the Aisne, Nivelle Offensive, Laon Cathedral
