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Memorial to Louis Astoul along the Chemin-des-Dames of the 70th Senegalese Regiment who was killed April 16, 1917, the first day of the Second Battle of the Aisne, the Battle of Chemin-des-Dames. © 2014 by John M. Shea
The Great Double Event, September 24, 1916. On the night of September 23/24, 1916, two Zeppelins of a raiding party of twelve airships were brought down: L.32 with all its crew east-northeast of London near Billericay, and L.33 in Essex. The crew of the latter all survived, as did the frame of their Zeppelin.
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
"Our morale was excellent as we crossed the parapet. Nothing could stop us: [in our minds] we'd already reached Caronne, California Plateau, the Ailette, which we would cross with thick ropes to make sure no one drowned. What a disappointment! What slaughter! From the start of the first phase — the plan had six of them — the machine-guns stopped us dead. Within ten or fifteen minutes the company had been cut to pieces; among the dead, many veterans of Verdun and the Somme." ((1), more)
"The artillery battle has become extremely violent during the night over all the front between Soissons and Rheims." ((2), more)
"I respectfully inform you that the tank attack of 16 April has passed the second German line between the Miette and the Mauchamps farm by a very short distance only . . . Many tanks of my squadron and the squadron of captain Pardon, operating between the Miette and Mauchamps, have been set on fire by shells. Concerning squadrons 4, 5, 9, I also saw many tanks burning. Major Bossut is among the dead." ((3), more)
"Georges Gaudy (57th Infantry) and his comrades were at the front near Vassonge on 17 April when they began to realize that things were going wrong:'We were shaken awake. Every man stood up and rubbed his eyes. It was raining now and the snow had melted. We heard whispers that the regiment was returning to the rear . . . The battalion marched in silence down unfamiliar tracks . . . passed by troops going up to the line. Why were they going up when we were coming down? . . . That's when our misery overwhelmed us. We didn't speak for fear of bursting into tears. We no longer thought for fear of understanding what was going on. Somewhere within our ranks a voice groaned, 'It's never going to end, never!''" ((4), more)
"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." ((5), more)
(1) Corporal Jean Portes of the French 1st Infantry describing his company's destruction in the opening minutes of the Nivelle Offensive, April 16, 1917. The battles of Verdun and the Somme, the two great Western Front battles of 1916, the first the French defense against the German assault on Verdun, the second the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme River. The Nivelle Offensive began with a British offensive at Arras, begun on April 9. The Second Battle of the Aisne was the French component. Despite the stalling of the British at Arras, the morale of French soldiers was reported to be high, but it was dashed by the failure of their attack in its first minutes and hours.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner, page 149, copyright © Ian Sumner 2012, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2012
(2) A French Army morning communiqué released at 2:00 P.M. on April 16, 1917, the opening day of the Nivelle Offensive. The day was a disaster for the French.
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 142, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
(3) The French first used the Schneider CA1 tank in the Nivelle Offensive. Because the terrain of the first and second German lines was so dug up by artillery fire, the tanks were to be used for attacking the third and fourth lines. The Bossut group supporting the Fifth Army Corps had to cross a bridge at the Miette River in a column before regrouping on the other side.
The 1917 Spring Offensives: Arras, Vimy, Chemin des Dames by Yves Buffetaut, page 150, publisher: Histoire et Collections, publication date: 1997
(4) French Commander Robert Nivelle launched the Second Battle of the Aisne on April 16, 1917 after several days of delay, due to poor weather including snow. The attack against the heights of Chemin des Dames was the French component of his spring offensive, the British being the Battle of Arras begun April 9. After a successful first day, the British stalled. Attacking uphill, in rain and snow, against well-entrenched troops, in the confusion Georges Gaudy describes, the French, whose morale was reported to be high, saw little but failure.
They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918 by Ian Sumner, pp. 153–154, copyright © Ian Sumner 2012, publisher: Pen and Sword, publication date: 2012
(5) 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
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