General Robert NIVELLE - Signed autograph letter - First world war
Robert NIVELLE (1856 - 1924), French soldier, generalissimo and commander-in-chief of the French armies during the First World War. At the end of February 1917, a date was set for April for the
choice of a joint attack with British troops on the front between Vimy and Reims. Deciding on a lightning attack, his offensive plan spread to the ears of the Germans who were preparing to welcome
the 12 French divisions which went on the offensive on April 16. This battle for the Ladies' Road was a bitter failure with significant human losses.
Signed autograph letter titled "Secret and Personal" to British Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. April 4, 1917; 3 1/4 folio pages on letterhead of the General Headquarters of the North and North-East Armies
Letter of historical significance from General Robert Nivelle, Commander-in-Chief of the French armies from December 1916 to May 1917, to Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, concerning the date of the British attack on Arras, the first phase of the Allied spring offensive 1917 that Nivelle had prepared with the aim of breaking through the German front and winning the war: "The persistence of bad weather will certainly not allow us to launch our attacks at the now very early date, which we had fixed. If, in a powerful attack, prepared thoroughly in such a way as to leave nothing to chance, the chances of success approach certain, these chances decrease rapidly if the preparation is incomplete. However, the state of the atmosphere does not allow artillery action to develop in good conditions, the state of the ground would make it difficult for the infantry to move, that of the roads and all the means of communication. would interfere with supplies. All these drawbacks are aggravated by the long duration of the operations. We do not want to neglect any chance of success. On the other hand, our readiness across the front would allow us to face and respond head-to-head to any attack. There would therefore be, in the current state, only advantages to postpone the date of the attacks until the state of the atmosphere and the ground allow them to be undertaken under the best conditions. The best method, to take into account the duration of the preparations for the establishment of the attacking infantry, would be to stay at D-3 until further notice. (The date fixed for the first attack being the 8th, D-3 is the 5th. If the weather improves from the 10th for example. And the order is given on this date to continue the preparations, it would result that we would stay on D-3 from 5 to 10 inclusive, D-2 would be 11, D-1 12, D 13) I have the honor to ask you if you share my point of view on the subject of the need, because of bad weather, to postpone the attack which was to take place on the 8th to a later date, and of the process to be used to fix the new D-day as soon as time permits "
A simple colonel at the start of the war, Nivelle was promoted to general at the same time as Pétain in October 1914. He distinguished himself by his daring, routing the German army on several occasions. On April 19, 1916, he replaced General Pétain in Verdun, deemed not to be offensive enough, at the head of the Second Army. He distinguished himself in the capture of Fort Douaumont and during the Battle of the Somme, blocking the German offensive at Fort Souville, despite significant loss of life. He was decorated with the plaque of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor on April 19, 1916. Ensuring a rapid victory, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies in place of General Joffre, considered too static, for his part promoted to Marshal of France. He wants to end the war of attrition of the trenches and pleads for the sudden attack. Prime Minister Lloyd George agrees to put British troops under his command. However, he must be accountable to his military hierarchy and to policies impacting his freedom of decision. At the end of February 1917, a date was set for April for the choice of a joint attack with British troops on the front between Vimy and Reims. But the German army fell back. Nivelle then decides to dissociate the English attack from the French attack which focuses on the Chemin des Dames. On March 19, the Briand government was replaced by that of Ribot who took Paul Painlevé as Minister of War, hostile to Nivelle. Deciding on a lightning attack, his offensive plan spread to the ears of the Germans who were preparing to welcome the 12 French divisions which went on the offensive on April 16. This battle for the Ladies' Road was a bitter failure with significant human losses. Mutinies follow one another. Painlevé, supported behind the scenes by Pétain, both hostile to Nivelle, seized the opportunity to replace him at the head of the French army by the latter.
Signed autograph letter titled "Secret and Personal" to British Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. April 4, 1917; 3 1/4 folio pages on letterhead of the General Headquarters of the North and North-East Armies
Letter of historical significance from General Robert Nivelle, Commander-in-Chief of the French armies from December 1916 to May 1917, to Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, concerning the date of the British attack on Arras, the first phase of the Allied spring offensive 1917 that Nivelle had prepared with the aim of breaking through the German front and winning the war: "The persistence of bad weather will certainly not allow us to launch our attacks at the now very early date, which we had fixed. If, in a powerful attack, prepared thoroughly in such a way as to leave nothing to chance, the chances of success approach certain, these chances decrease rapidly if the preparation is incomplete. However, the state of the atmosphere does not allow artillery action to develop in good conditions, the state of the ground would make it difficult for the infantry to move, that of the roads and all the means of communication. would interfere with supplies. All these drawbacks are aggravated by the long duration of the operations. We do not want to neglect any chance of success. On the other hand, our readiness across the front would allow us to face and respond head-to-head to any attack. There would therefore be, in the current state, only advantages to postpone the date of the attacks until the state of the atmosphere and the ground allow them to be undertaken under the best conditions. The best method, to take into account the duration of the preparations for the establishment of the attacking infantry, would be to stay at D-3 until further notice. (The date fixed for the first attack being the 8th, D-3 is the 5th. If the weather improves from the 10th for example. And the order is given on this date to continue the preparations, it would result that we would stay on D-3 from 5 to 10 inclusive, D-2 would be 11, D-1 12, D 13) I have the honor to ask you if you share my point of view on the subject of the need, because of bad weather, to postpone the attack which was to take place on the 8th to a later date, and of the process to be used to fix the new D-day as soon as time permits "
A simple colonel at the start of the war, Nivelle was promoted to general at the same time as Pétain in October 1914. He distinguished himself by his daring, routing the German army on several occasions. On April 19, 1916, he replaced General Pétain in Verdun, deemed not to be offensive enough, at the head of the Second Army. He distinguished himself in the capture of Fort Douaumont and during the Battle of the Somme, blocking the German offensive at Fort Souville, despite significant loss of life. He was decorated with the plaque of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor on April 19, 1916. Ensuring a rapid victory, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armies in place of General Joffre, considered too static, for his part promoted to Marshal of France. He wants to end the war of attrition of the trenches and pleads for the sudden attack. Prime Minister Lloyd George agrees to put British troops under his command. However, he must be accountable to his military hierarchy and to policies impacting his freedom of decision. At the end of February 1917, a date was set for April for the choice of a joint attack with British troops on the front between Vimy and Reims. But the German army fell back. Nivelle then decides to dissociate the English attack from the French attack which focuses on the Chemin des Dames. On March 19, the Briand government was replaced by that of Ribot who took Paul Painlevé as Minister of War, hostile to Nivelle. Deciding on a lightning attack, his offensive plan spread to the ears of the Germans who were preparing to welcome the 12 French divisions which went on the offensive on April 16. This battle for the Ladies' Road was a bitter failure with significant human losses. Mutinies follow one another. Painlevé, supported behind the scenes by Pétain, both hostile to Nivelle, seized the opportunity to replace him at the head of the French army by the latter.
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