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34-447: On 3 August 1914, Germany declared war on France. The next day, Prime Minister Rene Viviani read an address written by President Raymond Poincaré : This political movement may have been an attempt to create solidarity during a time when the largely pacifist SFIO threatened a general strike, while many French Catholics were slighted by anti-Catholic policies, such as the separation of church and state . Elements of nationalism, that

68-512: A 1,500–2,000 yd (1,400–1,800 m) front. A second echelon of seven divisions followed, with one infantry division and six cavalry divisions in reserve. Six German divisions held the line opposite, in the front position and the R-Stellung ( Rückstellung , Reserve Position) further back. French artillery observers benefited from good weather but on the night of 24/25 September, heavy rain began and fell until noon. The German front position

102-508: A breakthrough and concluded with the view that one might still be possible. Lack of troops made it impossible for the Germans to respond with methodical counter-attacks ( Gegenangriffe ) but smaller Gegenstösse (hasty counter-attacks by troops in the vicinity), had succeeded against French units weakened by losses, which had not had time to consolidate captured ground. It was recommended that such reserves should be made available by reducing

136-556: A breakthrough attack feasible. The slower, deliberate methods would conserve French infantry as they battered through the deeper defences built by the Germans since 1914. In the autumn battles, the Allies had outnumbered the Westheer (German army in the west) by 600 infantry battalions but had not achieved a breakthrough; after the first day of an attack, German reinforcements had made one impossible. Several German divisions had returned from

170-473: A mass breakthrough, even with the extreme accumulation of men and material, cannot be regarded as holding out the prospects of success. and that the plans made earlier in 1915 for an offensive in France were obsolete. Falkenhayn needed to resolve the paradoxical lessons of the war since 1914, to find a way to end it favourably for Germany, which culminated at Battle of Verdun in 1916, when Falkenhayn tried to induce

204-809: A moral superiority over the Germans and that only a lack of artillery had led to the failure to achieve the strategic objectives of the offensive. To keep as many German troops as possible away from the Eastern Front, offensive operations must continue but troops in the front line were to be kept to the minimum over the winter and a new strategy was to be formulated. The theoretical bases of the French offensives of 1915 had been collected in But et conditions d'une action offensive d'ensemble (Purpose and Conditions of Mass Offensive Action, 16 April 1915) and its derivative, Note 5779, which were compiled from analyses of reports received from

238-598: A wage for women employed in home-work in the clothing industry. In May 1919 the Chamber of Deputies finally debated the bill proposed by Paul Dussaussoy in 1906 for limited women's suffrage. Viviani gave an eloquent speech in its support, and the chamber voted in its favour by 344 to 97. Changes Changes Second Battle of Champagne Associated articles 1915 1916 1917 1918 Associated articles The Second Battle of Champagne ( Bataille de Champagne , Herbstschlacht [Autumn Battle]) in

272-403: A war basis with Alexandre Millerand replacing Adolphe Messimy as Minister of War. Along with President Poincaré and War Minister Millerand he attended a June 1915 meeting of Joffre (Commander-in-Chief) and his Army Group Commanders ( Foch , Castelnau and Dubail ), a rare attempt at political oversight at this stage of the war. By autumn 1915 Viviani's government was in trouble following

306-513: The R-Stellung from 27 to 29 September, broke through on 28 September. A German counter-attack next day recaptured the ground, most of which was on a reverse slope, which had deprived the French artillery of ground observation. Joffre suspended the offensive until more ammunition could be supplied and ordered that the captured ground be consolidated and cavalry units withdrawn. Smaller French attacks against German salients continued from 30 September to 5 October. On 3 October, Joffre abandoned

340-616: The First World War was a French offensive against the German army at Champagne that coincided with the Third Battle of Artois in the north and ended with a French defeat. On 25 September 1915, twenty divisions of the Second Army and Fourth Army of Groupe d'armées du Centre (GAC, Central Army Group Général Édouard de Castelnau ), attacked at 9:15 a.m., with each division on

374-693: The Council of Ministers ( Deputy Prime Minister ) and Gallieni as War Minister in Aristide Briand 's new ministry. In April 1917 Viviani led a mission to the US, which had just entered the war "associated with" the Allies. He was overshadowed by Marshal Joffre , who attracted much more attention from the American press. During Viviani's time as prime minister, a law was adopted in July 1915 providing for special boards to fix such

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408-528: The Eastern Front but were tired and of little value. The German commander in chief, General Erich von Falkenhayn , had underestimated the possibility of an offensive and kept the Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL, German army high command) reserve spread all along the Western Front, rather than concentrating it in threatened areas. French reviews of the offensive found that their reserves had moved close to

442-626: The French attack, having been able to watch the French preparations from the high ground. The main German defensive effort was made at the R-Stellung , behind which the bulk of the German field artillery had been withdrawn. A supporting attack by the French Third Army on the Aisne took no ground. German reserves, directed by Falkenhayn , plugged gaps in the German lines. The French commander-in-chief, Joseph Joffre , allotted two reserve divisions to

476-582: The French commanders concluded that a breakthrough could not be forced in one attack and that it would take several set-piece battles to make the defenders collapse and be unable to prevent a return to mobile operations. The German report, Experiences of the 3rd Army in the Autumn Battles in the Champagne, 1915 , noted that unyielding defence of the most forward positions had failed several times. The French had severely damaged German field fortifications and cut

510-409: The French had to suspend their attacks until artillery had been moved forward, which took until 4 October. The momentum of the initial breakthrough had not been maintained, because the French troops crowding forward had become disorganised, which made co-ordinated attacks impossible to arrange. French prisoners were reported to have said that there had been no methodical staging of the reserves to exploit

544-485: The French to repeat the costly failure of the Second Battle of Champagne. The offensive had been disappointing for the French. Despite their new 'attack in echelon' they had only made quick progress during the time it took for the Germans to strip reserves from elsewhere and rush them up. The French suffered 145,000 casualties, against 72,500 German casualties, (Foley gave 97,000 casualties based on Der Weltkrieg ,

578-544: The GAC and ordered the Groupe d'armées de l'Est (GAE, Eastern Army Group) to send all 75 mm field gun ammunition, except for 500 rounds per gun, to the Second and Fourth armies. On 26 September, the French attacked again, closed up to the R-Stellung on a 7.5 mi (12.1 km) front and gained a foothold in one place. Another 2,000 German troops were captured but attacks against

612-666: The German Official History). The French had taken 25,000 prisoners and captured 150 guns. In Der Weltkrieg , the German official history, French casualties in the Fourth, Second and Third armies from 25 September to 7 October were given as 143,567. Another 48,230 casualties were suffered by the Tenth Army from 25 September to 15 October and 56,812 casualties in the British First Army from 25 September to 16 October,

646-804: The Germans attacked rather than the French, anti-German propaganda , and a desire to regain the former French territory of Alsace–Lorraine may have provided further impetus for the movement. Similar movements existed in other countries, such as the Burgfriedenspolitik in Germany or the União Sagrada in Portugal. This French history –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rene Viviani Jean Raphaël Adrien René Viviani ( French pronunciation: [ʁəne vivjani] ; 8 November 1863 – 7 September 1925)

680-454: The attempt at a breakthrough in Champagne, ordering the local commanders to fight a battle of attrition , then terminated the offensive on 6 November. The offensive had advanced the French line for about 2.5 mi (4 km), at a cost of c.  100,000 French and British (in Artois) casualties against less German casualties. The French had attacked in Champagne with 35 divisions against

714-1016: The barbed wire obstacles in front of them by long artillery bombardments. The second position had not been broken into and the 3rd Army reported that the decision to construct it had been vindicated, since

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748-464: The equivalent of 16 German divisions. On the Champagne front, the Fourth, Second and Third armies had fired 2,842,400 field artillery and 577,700 heavy shells, which, with the consumption during the Third Battle of Artois in the north, exhausted the French stock of ammunition. French methods and equipment were insufficient for the demands of trench warfare and a lull followed as the French rested

782-449: The first position was still the intention but deeper defences would dissipate the effect of a breakthrough and force the attackers to make numerous individual attacks on ground where local knowledge and the preparation of defences would be advantageous to the defenders. Observation posts should be made secure from attack, reconnaissance reports acted on promptly and communication links were to be made as robust as possible. A wide field of fire

816-467: The front since 1914. The document contained instructions on infiltration tactics, rolling barrages and poison gas, which were to be used systematically in continuous battles to create rupture . Continuous battle was to be conducted by step-by-step advances through successive German defensive positions. Methodical attacks were to be made each time and would inexorably consume German infantry reserves. The German defences would eventually collapse and make

850-420: The front, ready to exploit a breakthrough and had advanced on time. The troops had become bunched up with the leading divisions, blocked the lines of communication and suffered many casualties while they were held up. Communications had failed and commanders had been in ignorance of the situation, artillery co-ordination with the infantry had been poor and rain grounded French artillery-observation aircraft. Many of

884-551: The maintenance of the law requiring three years' service in the army and provision for a loan of 1,800,000,000 francs ($ 360,000,000) for military preparations. Viviani supported both of these measures. During the July Crisis , he was largely dominated by President Poincaré. He retained the premiership for the first year of the First World War, but his tenure was undistinguished. On 26 August 1914 Viviani reorganized his cabinet on

918-448: The ministry of Gaston Doumergue . Viviani was an antisemite, arguing that "antisemitism is the best form of social struggle". In the spring of 1914 an exceptionally radical chamber was elected , and for a while it seemed that they would be unable to agree upon any one for Premier, but finally, he was appointed prime minister on 13 June 1914, by President Poincaré . He received a vote of confidence of 370 to 137. The chief issues were

952-408: The number of German troops in the front line, as one man every 6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in (2–3 m) was enough. Co-operation between all arms, assistance from neighbouring sectors and the exploitation of flanking moves had defeated the French offensive. More intermediate strong points, built for all-round defence, were recommended between the first and second positions. Defence of

986-473: The resignation of Delcassé as Foreign Minister, the unsuccessful western front offensive and the entry of Bulgaria into the war . Although he survived a no confidence vote by 372–9, there were many abstentions. General Gallieni agreed to replace Millerand as Minister of War, but other French politicians refused to join Viviani's government, so he resigned on 27 October 1915. Viviani served as Vice-President of

1020-442: The survivors of the offensive, replaced losses and accumulated more equipment and ammunition. French artillery had been unable to destroy the German artillery, often situated on reverse slopes of the Champagne hills. Some French regiments attacked with bands playing and their regimental flags waving. On 22 October, Joffre claimed that the autumn offensive had resulted in important tactical gains, inflicted many casualties and achieved

1054-773: Was a French politician of the Third Republic , who served as Prime Minister for the first year of World War I. He was born in Sidi Bel Abbès , in French Algeria . In France he sought to protect the rights of socialists and trade union workers. René Viviani was born in Algeria in a family of Italian immigrants. His parliamentary career began in 1893, when he was elected deputy of the fifth ward in Paris. He retained this office until 1902, when he failed to be reelected, but four years later he

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1088-663: Was elected deputy of the Department of Creuse . In the same year he entered the cabinet of Georges Clemenceau . At an early age he associated himself with the Socialist party, soon becoming one of its most brilliant orators and prominent leaders. When the party was reorganized in 1904 into the Unified Socialist party, Viviani, like fellow Socialist Aristide Briand , stayed outside, and thenceforth called himself an Independent Socialist. He served as Minister of Public Instruction in

1122-416: Was overrun in four places and two of the penetrations reached as far as the R-Stellung , where uncut barbed wire prevented the French from advancing further. In one part of the line, the French artillery barrage continued after the first German line had been taken, causing French casualties. The French took 14,000 prisoners and several guns but French casualties were also high; the Germans had anticipated

1156-551: Was unnecessary and to be dispensed with, to make each part of the position defensible by placing it on reverse slopes, concealed from ground observation. In his memoirs (1919), Falkenhayn wrote that the Herbstschlacht (Autumn Battle) showed that on the Western Front, quantity was not enough to defeat armies sheltering in field defences .... the lessons to be deduced from the failure of our enemies' mass attacks are decisive against any imitation of their battle methods. Attempts at

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