Breaking Point of the French Army: The Nivelle Offensive of 1917 by David Murphy

Author:David Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / World War I
ISBN: 9781473872929
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

Following consultation with Haig, Nivelle delayed the date for the offensive until 16 April because of the bad weather. The deteriorating conditions had a major impact on the French preparations. In the final days of the lead-up, there were periods of freezing weather followed by torrential downpours of icy rain, sleet and even snow. Roads were washed away, resulting in delays in moving up men, supplies and ammunition. These problems caused delays in resupplying the artillery batteries with shells and in places the preliminary bombardment slackened. These pauses in the bombardment led officers on Nivelle’s staff to have doubts about its effectiveness in cutting the enemy wire. One officer wrote, ‘the preparation is not what we hoped, what we expected. The infantry will find itself facing strong resistance. They will find the breaches not made or repaired.’10

The terrain, which Nivelle had dismissed as being inconsequential, also had a major impact on the effectiveness of the bombardment. French artillery fire simply could not reach German positions on the reverse slope of the Chemin des Dames. As a result, German defences and troops on the far side of the ridgeline remained largely untouched. A dense freezing fog covered the battlefield on occasion, making artillery observation impossible. General Micheler commented that ‘during the preparation and the day of attack, the observation of [artillery] fire, either by aerial observers or even by ground observers, was impeded considerably by very unfavourable atmospheric conditions’.11

In the run-up to the offensive, 14 April was the only day free from rain, snow, fog or strong winds. The weather gods were clearly not on Nivelle’s side. As a result, reconnaissance flights were limited and those that did take place were largely ineffective. Alongside the weather issues, the German air service gained local superiority over the Chemin des Dames and this severely restricted French aerial reconnaissance. To be effective, the French artillery plan required coordination from the air; in the event, in the run-up to the attack, the French were not in a position to register and adjust their artillery properly.

For the troops on the ground, the build-up was dominated by the miserable weather. The men were constantly wet and cold and the colonial troops found these conditions particularly demoralizing. For the artillery, the frequent downpours often washed out their gun positions, thus requiring a period of frantic activity to rebuild the emplacements. The horses of the cavalry, artillery and supply units often became bogged down on the roads.

Before the attack the infantry were instructed to lighten their packs. Attacking troops were to carry their rifles, 120 rounds of ammunition, three hand grenades and two rifle grenades, two waterbottles, a spade, a gas mask, a food haversack, a tent section and a rolled blanket. All other equipment was to be left behind in order to facilitate the expected swift advance. The sodden terrain and prevailing weather conditions did not favour rapid movement, however.

Even so, Nivelle remained hopeful. On 4 April he issued his final instructions to his army group commanders. Characteristically, these concentrated on the planned movements that would follow the breakthrough.

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