The Death of Glory: The Western Front, 1915 by Neillands Robin

Author:Neillands, Robin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2013-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

8. Festubert, 15-27 May 1915

Very considerable pressure was brought to bear on the British Commander-in-Chief both by General Joffre and General Foch, to induce him to continue offensive action.

British Official History, 1915, Vol II, p. 45

Although the British attack on Aubers Ridge had ended abruptly after just one day, with very heavy losses incurred for no visible advantage, matters appeared to be going somewhat better with the French offensive in Artois. According to General Joffre, the French were currently forging ahead along their front and, at last, taking a quantity of ground at Vimy Ridge.

Joffre therefore insisted, frequently, loudly and at length, that Haig's First Army must renew its attack on Aubers Ridge at once, if only to prevent the Germans moving their forces south to counter this advance at Vimy. For a number of reasons - the continuing action at Ypres, the losses just incurred at Aubers Ridge and that chronic shortage of artillery ammunition - Field Marshal French was unable to comply with these demands.

This being so, the days immediately after the end of the Aubers Ridge encounter represented another low point in Anglo-French relations on the Western Front - 'the most difficult in the relations between the two Allied headquarters', to quote the Official History. (1) For once, dissatisfaction between the Allied commanders was not restricted entirely to the French. Field Marshal French was now extremely peeved with his opposite number at GQG, and with General Foch, and with good reason. Not only had the French 45th and 87th Divisions given way before the gas at Ypres, thereby exposing the left of the British line to attack, but General Foch's repeated assurances that he would summon fresh forces and launch a massive counter-attack to restore this position at Ypres had come to nothing and still showed no sign of being implemented.

As for General Joffre, the generalissimo, his attitude towards the British was still based on ingrained beliefs, widely shared among the French generals. First, that the British were not pulling their weight in this struggle by taking over more of the line, supporting French efforts and putting in more attacks. Second, that the British generals should admit French superiority in all matters militaire and do as they were told without demur. If somewhat more tactfully expressed, the British view did not accord with these French sentiments, which were in any case based on a total and wilful misreading of the pre-war facts - and a somewhat exaggerated estimate of French generalship.

In order to understand the French point of view it is necessary to remind ourselves of the misconceptions that arose pre-1914 related in Chapter 1. From the moment the Entente Cordiale was signed, the French had spared no efforts to translate it into a full military alliance, in which aim they were aided by Brigadier Henry Wilson, Director of Military Operations at the War Office. Moreover, on several occasions during the years before the war the British government had pointed out to the French that any British

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