Jeff Simmons
Active member
There were many causes for the French mutinies that occurred on the Western Front in May and June, 1917. The soldiers were poorly paid, unable to spare money to send home, and their families were going hungry. They had inadequate leave facilities with nothing much to do except drink wine; discipline was extremely harsh. Despite these hard conditions, the French maintained 4/5 of the line and fought valiantly.
The tipping point was the Battle of the Aisne. Gen. Robert Nivelle, who devised the plan, claimed that it would bring an end to the war in just a few days. He promised the government in Paris that if he did not achieve immediate success, he would call off the attack. At the outset, his troops believed in his plan. He amassed 1.2 million troops and 200 tanks along a 40-mile front from Soissons to Reims. After the typical WWI bombardment ended, the troops went over the top on April 16 and headed up the slopes to their first objective, the Chemin des Dames Ridge.
A whole lot of things went wrong. It was pouring rain, making the slopes up to the ridge quite treacherous. Most of the tanks were knocked out before they reached the battlefield. The Germans drove the French from the skies, making aerial observation impossible, leaving the artillery to fire blindly by timetable alone. The troops could not keep up with that timetable, so when the artillery shifted forward, German machine gunners came out of their dugouts and mowed down the advancing troops. The result was 120,000 casualties in two days.
When questioned by the government, Nivelle assured that he was making tremendous progress and pushed on. Reminded of his pledge to call off the attack if it went awry, Nivelle refused to stop the attacks. The troops had long since lost their confidence in Nivelle and his plan. They made sounds of sheep being led to slaughter when passing their commanding officers on their way to the front.
Then, in late May, word began to spread that some units in rear areas were refusing to return to the front. By June, half of the French Army was refusing orders. One group in particular called on troops to march on Paris. Others agreed to hold the line, but not attack.
Miraculously, the Germans did not know what was happening.
Thus my question is this: Had the Germans known about the extent of the mutinies, how would that have changed the outcome of the war? Could the Germans have exploited the situation and pushed easily through the lines? Hmmm...
The tipping point was the Battle of the Aisne. Gen. Robert Nivelle, who devised the plan, claimed that it would bring an end to the war in just a few days. He promised the government in Paris that if he did not achieve immediate success, he would call off the attack. At the outset, his troops believed in his plan. He amassed 1.2 million troops and 200 tanks along a 40-mile front from Soissons to Reims. After the typical WWI bombardment ended, the troops went over the top on April 16 and headed up the slopes to their first objective, the Chemin des Dames Ridge.
A whole lot of things went wrong. It was pouring rain, making the slopes up to the ridge quite treacherous. Most of the tanks were knocked out before they reached the battlefield. The Germans drove the French from the skies, making aerial observation impossible, leaving the artillery to fire blindly by timetable alone. The troops could not keep up with that timetable, so when the artillery shifted forward, German machine gunners came out of their dugouts and mowed down the advancing troops. The result was 120,000 casualties in two days.
When questioned by the government, Nivelle assured that he was making tremendous progress and pushed on. Reminded of his pledge to call off the attack if it went awry, Nivelle refused to stop the attacks. The troops had long since lost their confidence in Nivelle and his plan. They made sounds of sheep being led to slaughter when passing their commanding officers on their way to the front.
Then, in late May, word began to spread that some units in rear areas were refusing to return to the front. By June, half of the French Army was refusing orders. One group in particular called on troops to march on Paris. Others agreed to hold the line, but not attack.
Miraculously, the Germans did not know what was happening.
Thus my question is this: Had the Germans known about the extent of the mutinies, how would that have changed the outcome of the war? Could the Germans have exploited the situation and pushed easily through the lines? Hmmm...