 Lyautey had successfully retained the territory he had captured before the war but was of the opinion that he could not advance any further without risking "an extremely painful" mountain conflict. He faced having his troops withdrawn for service on the Western Front and being left with what he described as "degenerates and outcasts", a loss only partially mitigated by the expansion of the irregular tribal units to 21 goums in strength. Henrys accepted an offer of a position in France and was replaced by Colonel Joseph-François Poeymirau, a keen follower of Lyautey who had served as Henrys' second in command at Meknes. Lyautey was offered the post of Minister of War at the invitation of Prime Minister Aristide Briand, which he accepted on 12 December 1916. Lyautey was replaced, at his request, by General Henri Gouraud, who had experience fighting alongside Lyautey in Morocco and who had recently returned from the Dardanelles, where he had lost his right arm. Lyautey soon became disillusioned with French tactics in Europe, the disunity prevailing between the Allies and his position as a symbolic figurehead of the government. He was unfamiliar with dealing with political opposition and resigned on 14 March 1917, after being shouted down in the Chamber of Deputies. The government could not survive the resignation of such a senior cabinet member and Briand himself resigned on 17 March, to be replaced by Alexandre Ribot.
