16 April-9 May 1917: The Second Battle of the Aisne—French commander-in-chief Robert Nivelle promised to win the war within forty-eight hours with a single decisive stroke; the French troops, psychologically fragile after the horrors of Verdun, were euphoric; the battle was a tactical success, but failed to achieve a strategic breakthrough, with massive casualties; French morale collapsed.
Lest we forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment