Nivelle's successful counter-strokes were an important factor behind the decision to appoint him to become the commander-in-chief of the French armies on 12 December 1916. These tactics proved effective: French troops re-took Fleury on 24 October, as well as Fort Douaumont, whose capture by the Germans on 25 February 1916 had been highly celebrated in Germany. The artillery supporting the infantry focused more on suppressing German troops as opposed to destroying specific objects. Nivelle ordered the employment of a creeping barrage when the French made their initial counter-stroke on 24 October. After the Germans captured Fleury on 23 June, Nivelle issued an Order of the Day which ended with the now-famous line: Ils ne passeront pas! (They shall not pass!). Nivelle is considered to have squandered the lives of his soldiers in wasteful counter-attacks during the Battle of Verdun only one fresh reserve brigade was left with the Second Army by 12 June. When Pétain was promoted to the command of the French Central Army Group, Nivelle was promoted to Pétain's previous command of the French Second Army, which was fighting against the Germans at Verdun, and he took direct control of the army on. In 1916 the Battle of Verdun occurred (21 February – 18 December), during which Nivelle was a subordinate to Philippe Pétain. Autochrome portrait by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont Consequently, he was promoted to the rank of general in October 1914. Nivelle played a key role in defeating German attacks during the Alsace Offensive, the First Battle of the Marne and the First Battle of the Aisne, as a result of the intense artillery fire he organised against them. During that period, Nivelle served with distinction in Algeria, Tunisia and in China during the Boxer Rebellion (1898–1901).įirst World War 1914–15 ĭescribed as "an articulate and immensely self-confident gunner", Starting as a sub-lieutenant with the French artillery, Nivelle became a colonel-of-artillery in December 1913. He began his service in the French Army in 1878 upon graduating from the École Polytechnique. Nivelle also was a Protestant and this was a help to him as in the context of the politics of the French military Catholic piety was a handicap. Robert Georges Nivelle, born on 15 October 1856 in the French provincial town of Tulle in Corrèze, had a French father and an English Protestant mother. Nivelle was replaced as commander-in-chief by Philippe Pétain in May 1917. When the costly offensive failed to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front, a major mutiny occurred, affecting roughly half the French Army, which conducted no further major offensive action for several months. He was responsible for the Nivelle Offensive at the Chemin des Dames, which had aroused skepticism already in its planning stages. He gives his name to the Nivelle Offensive.įollowing the successes at Verdun, Nivelle was promoted to commander-in-chief of the French armies on the Western Front in December 1916, largely because of his persuasiveness with French and British political leaders, aided by his fluency in English. During these actions he and General Charles Mangin were accused of wasting French lives. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in the Battle of Verdun, leading counter-offensives that rolled back the German forces in late 1916. Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924 ) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War.
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