French General Robert Nivelle, from a pharmaceutical advertising card
Général NivelleReverse:Text in Indonesian and Dutch:Indonesian:Sakit pileg jang soedah lama dan jang baharoe, sakit tatoeq, sakit radang derri boeloeh-hoeloeh di-mengobati sampoerna dan sama sekal oleh: Antjoeran Pautauberge jang bekin koewat paroe-paroe dan menegahken sakit tombal (tuberculose).L. Pautauberge10, Rue de ConstantinopleParijs dan segalla roemah obat.Dutch:Oude en pas ontstane verkoudheid, hoest, ontsteking der luchtpijptakken worden afdoende genezen door de: Oplossing Pautauberge die de longen sterk maakt en de Tuberculose voorkomt.L. Pautauberge10, Rue de ConstantinopleParijs en in alle apothekenOld and newly arisen colds, cough, and inflammation of the bronchial tubes are effectively cured by:Pautauberge Solutionwhich strengthens the lungs and prevents Tuberculosis.L. Pautauberge10, Rue de ConstantinopleParis and in all pharmacies
"The first signs of a serious morale crisis appeared in the Laffaux sector on 4 May: one company refused to fight. In some quarters tracts were found with the words: 'Down with the war! Death to those in charge!' In his thesis on the 1917 mutinies, Guy Pédroncini observes that most cases of rebellion were found in the 6e armée (formerly Mangin's) and among the divisions engaged in the May 1917 operations, which, as was shown, were the most useless."
French commander in chief Robert Nivelle had convinced many politicians and his soldiers that he had discovered the secret to breaking through the German front and bringing the war to a rapid conclusion. The failure of his offensive, the Second Battle of the Aisne, to do more than pushing the front forward at great cost to his men, broke many of the units under his command. The battle began on April 16, 1917. Within hours it was clear it would achieve no more than its initial objectives, the crossing of the Aisne River and capture of the high ground of Chemin des Dames. The French mutinies had begun by the 21st with soldiers calling for peace. Other incidents occurred on April 24 and 29, but they spread widely in May. Lauffaux is northeast of Soissons on the western end of Chemin des Dames. French General Charles Mangin's nickname was 'the Butcher.'
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 184, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
1917-05-04, 1917, May, Robert Nivelle, Nivelle
