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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
Headstone in the German Cemetery at Cerny-en-Laonnois for the graves of the Landsturm infantrymen Paul Fischer and Hermann Lamprecht, both died April 19, 1917 during the Second Battle of the Aisne. The grave contains the remains of 'Polinske', dead with no further information. The Landsturm were reserve units, typically of older men. © 2014 by John M. Shea
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
Western Ottoman Empire showing the travels of Rafael De Nogales, Inspector-General of the Turkish Forces in Armenia and Military Governor of Egyptian Sinai during the World War, from his book Four Years Beneath the Crescent.
Chosen Boy, a 1918 watercolor by Paul Klee. From Paul Klee: Early and Late Years: 1894-1940. © 2013 Moeller Fine Art
"The Germans abandoned a large area on 18 April: they left the Aisne valley, which was no longer of any use to them, moving back to Chemin des Dames. Before leaving the villages they burnt them down: Vailly, Aisy, Sancy, Jouy, the Rochefort farm. Occasionally the retreat was interrupted by fierce counter-attacks, as at Mont Sapin in the morning of 18 April. German prisoners taken nearby, at the Grinons, said they had been ordered to fall back on the Siegfried Stellung, i.e. on the ridge of Chemin des Dames. The news that part of the battle ground had been evacuated brought some relief at the GQG: 'Hope came back on the evening of 18 April. The Mangin army was looking at an enemy who was shunning them; the Mitry corps sent a series of telegrams telling of the capture of guns and large quantities of equipment. We had taken Ostel, Braye-en-Laonnais, Nanteuil-la-Fosse and our troops were moving on,' Jean de Pierrefeu wrote." ((1), more)
"19th April [1917]The great French offensive carried out by the Third Army on the 11th, by the Fifth and Sixth Armies on the 16th and the Fourth Army on the 17th, has produced only insignificant results in comparison with the goals aimed at and the assurances expressed by the High Command.The newspapers will naturally celebrate the capture of 14,000 men and twelve guns; they will proclaim that this is the beginning of an uninterrupted train of successes destined to carry us to the Rhine.The losses will not be mentioned. Why should they be mentioned?" ((2), more)
"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.'" ((3), more)
"After the [Second Battle of Gaza] the British entrenched on the line Tell et Tine-Esch Schaluf-El Mansura-Ch. el Maschrafe, particularly protecting their right flank.The Turkish losses in the battle were 391 killed, 1,336 wounded and 242 missing. They captured six British officers and 266 men. The British losses in the battle were estimated by the Turks as very high, and confirmed as such by the British prisoners." ((4), more)
"The troops of all the German tribes under your command, with steel-hard determination and strongly led, have brought to failure the great French attempt to break through on the Aisne and in Champagne. Also there the infantry again had to bear the brunt, and, thanks to the indefatigable assistance of the artillery and other arms, has accomplished great things in death-defying perseverance and irresistible attack. Convey my thanks and those of the Fatherland to the leaders and men. The battle on the Aisne and in Champagne is not yet over, but all who fight and bleed there shall know that the whole of Germany will remember their deeds, and is one with them to carry through the fight for existence to a victorious end. God grant it." ((5), more)
(1) From its beginning on April 16, 1917, Robert Nivelle's offensive, the Second Battle of the Aisne, looked like failure. The attack to seize the heights of Chemin des Dames and move past the ridge to Laon and beyond was the French component of his spring offensive, one that began with the British attack at Arras that opened on April 9. If French 'hope came back' on April 18, it was after the bitter disappointment and failure of the previous two days. GQG was Grand quartier général, French general headquarters. The Siegfried Stellung was the Hindenburg Line, a zone of four heavily reinforced defensive lines.
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 166, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
(2) Diary entry by Albert, King of the Belgians, for April 1, 1917, writing of French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle's offensive, the Second Battle of the Aisne, which from its beginning on April 16, 1917 looked to be a failure. The attack to move beyond the Aisne River and seize the heights of Chemin des Dames above it, then move past the ridge to Laon and beyond was the French component of Nivelle's spring offensive, one that began with the April 9 British attack at Arras.
The War Diaries of Albert I King of the Belgians by Albert I, page 164, copyright © 1954, publisher: William Kimber
(3) 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
(4) Excerpt from German General Otto Liman von Sanders' account of the Second Battle of Gaza, the main action of which was fought on April 20, 1917. Like the First Battle of Gaza, fought from March 26 to 28, the Second ended in a British defeat, preventing them from advancing on Palestine. The two defeats led to the replacement of General Archibald Murray, commanding British forces in the Middle East from his headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, by General Edmund Allenby. Allenby would build on Murray's methodical construction of roads and supply lines along the Mediterranean coast to support the advance.
Five Years in Turkey by Liman von Sanders, page 167, publisher: The Battery Press with War and Peace Books, publication date: 1928 (originally)
(5) Telegram of April 22, 1917 from German Kaiser Wilhelm II to his son the Crown Prince,commanding in Champagne where German forces had halted the the attack in the Second Battle of the Aisne launched on April 17, and part of French commander Robert Nivelle's spring offensive. The Aisne River was south of the heights of Chemin des Dames, and had been held by the German's since their retreat to it in September, 1914 after the battles of the Marne and Aisne.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner, Vol. V, 1917, p. 163, copyright © Ian Sumner 2012, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2012
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