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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. Text: 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.

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.

Image text

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.

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Thursday, September 7, 1916

"The French were preparing to counter-attack at Verdun. The disaster in the Tavannes Tunnel could not deter them from that. On the Somme, the battle seemed to be coming to a close. 'It is nice to think that our heavy fighting is coming to an end,' Noel Chavasse wrote home on September 7. 'The Huns are beaten to a frazzle in front of us. We are feeling top dogs. There is nothing like the losses we had at first.'"

Quotation Context

The Tavannes railway tunnel had been used to house French troops. Over 500 of them were killed on September 4, 1916 when an ammunition depot was accidentally ignited. The Germans had begun the Battle of Verdun on February 21, 1916, and suspended it on September 2 as the French prepared to retake the territory they had lost in the battle, particularly Forts Douaumont and Vaux. The British launched the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, and did not end it until November 13. There were still nine weeks of fighting to go when Noel Chavasse, a medical officer and double recipient of the Victoria Cross, wrote.

Source

The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 285, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994

Tags

1916-09-07, 1916, September, Tavannes, Tavannes Tunnel, Somme, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Verdun, Verdun