Robert Nivelle Robert Georges Nivelle ( 15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924 ) was a French artillery officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion , and the First World War . Nivelle was a very capable commander and organizer of field artillery at the regimental and divisional levels . In May 1916 , he was given command of the French Second Army in the Battle of Verdun , leading counter - offensives that rolled back the German forces in late 1916 . However he and General Charles Mangin were already accused of wasting French lives at Verdun . Following his successes at Verdun , he 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 . He was responsible for the Nivelle Offensive at the Chemin des Dames , which faced a large degree of suspicion about its effectiveness during its planning stages . When the 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 . Nivelle was replaced as commander - in - chief in May 1917 . Early life and career . 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 . He began his service in the French Army in 1878 upon graduating from the École Polytechnique . Starting as a sub - lieutenant with French artillery , Nivelle became a colonel - of - artillery in December 1913 . During that period , Nivelle served with distinction in Algeria , Tunisia and in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1898 - 1901 . First World War . 1914 - 15 . Described as " an articulate and immensely self - confident gunner " , 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 . Consequently , he was promoted to the rank of general in October 1914 . 1916 . In 1916 the Battle of Verdun occurred ( 21 February – 18 December ) , during which Nivelle was a subordinate to Philippe Pétain . 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 1 May 1916 . Nivelle is considered to have squandered the lives of some 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 . 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 ordered the employment of a creeping barrage when the French made their initial counter - stroke on 24 October . The artillery supporting the infantry focused more on suppressing German troops as opposed to destroying specific objects . 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 . 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 . Briand was extremely impressed by Nivelle , telling the other leaders at the Rome Conference ( January 1917 ) that during his Verdun attacks Nivelle had sent telegrams from various places on the advance , achieving his objectives exactly according to the predicted timetable . Commander - in - Chief . Nivelle had less power than his predecessor Joffre . He was placed under the orders of the War Minister Hubert Lyautey and , unlike Joffre , Nivelle ' s authority did not extend over the Salonika Front . Nivelle ' s slogan ( also attributed to Petain ) was : “ the artillery conquers ; the infantry occupies ” . He believed that a saturation bombardment , followed by a creeping barrage and by aggressive infantry assaults , could break the enemy ' s front defences and help French troops reach the German gun - line during a single attack , which would be followed by a breakthrough within two days . Nivelle ’ s plan in 1917 , was for the British to take over an extra 20 miles of French front to free up French troops , then Anglo - French wearing - out attacks between Arras and the Oise to keep German reserve troops occupied , then a surprise attack by French forces on the Aisne , the " GAR " ( Army Group Reserve or Rupture : two armies in the line and another two ( 27 divisions ) in reserve , 1 . 2 million men in total ) to exploit the rupture of the German defences that was expected to occur as a result . The attack would be broken off it did not “ rupture ” the German front within 48 hours . Looking for an alternative to more months of attrition warfare , British and French political leaders supported Nivelle ' s proposal . Relations with the British . Haig , the British commander , had already agreed with Joffre that the British would launch wearing - out attacks in 1917 , but demanded ( 6 January ) written confirmation of Nivelle ’ s earlier assurance that if the plan did not succeed in forcing a general German withdrawal , Nivelle would take over British line to free up British reserves for his planned Flanders offensive . By Spears ’ account Nivelle accused Haig of having “ une idee fixe ” about Flanders and of trying to “ hog all the blanket for himself ” rather than seeing the front as a whole . Lloyd George backed Nivelle because he thought he had “ proved himself to be a Man ” at Verdun . Haig wanted to delay his attack until May to coincide with Italian and Russian attacks , but was told to be ready no later than 1 April , and to take over French line as requested . The British government ordered him to live up to both the “ letter ” and “ spirit ” of the agreement with Nivelle , and not cause delays , almost certainly a result of private lobbying by Nivelle . Lloyd George had a long conversation ( 15 February ) with Major Berthier de Sauvigny , a French liaison officer in London , telling him that Haig needed to be subordinated to Nivelle for the offensive , as Milne had been subordinated to Sarrail at Salonika , and if necessary he would be replaced . The British War Cabinet felt that the French generals and staff had shown themselves more skilled than the British in 1916 , whilst politically Britain had to give wholehearted support to what would probably be the last major French effort of the war . Haig blamed the poor state of the railways , demanding twice the railway requirements for half as many troops as the French . At the Calais Conference the railway experts were soon sent away , and although Nivelle became embarrassed when Lloyd George asked him to criticise Haig , he agreed to draw up rules for the relations between the British and French armies , to be binding also on their successors going forward . He proposed that the British forces be placed under his direct command ( via a British staff at French GQG ) , not just for operations but even logistics and food , with Haig sidelined and forbidden even to make direct contact with London . The British CIGS Robertson lost his temper when shown the proposals , and believed that Lloyd George , not the French , had originated them . Nivelle visited the British generals next morning , and professed astonishment that they had had no prior knowledge of the plan . As a compromise Haig was given right of appeal to the War Cabinet and retained tactical control of British forces , although Lloyd George insisted – lest the conference break up without agreement - that he still be under Nivelle ’ s orders for the duration of the offensive . The Germans had recently added 300 battalions to their forces by intensive mobilisation , and Haig claimed ( 3 March ) that with the BEF spread more thinly by having taken over line to the south , these forces might be used to attack at Ypres and cut him off from the Channel Ports . Assuming Haig was inventing this threat , Nivelle wrote him a letter , addressing him as a subordinate , and revived the idea of a British staff at GQG , this time reporting to Robertson , but through whom Nivelle would issue orders to Haig . Nivelle now demanded that the BEF be split into two Army Groups or else that Haig be sacked and replaced by Gough . Nivelle also believed that Lloyd George hoped to become Allied Commander - in - Chief , a suggestion so absurd that it caused President Poincare to laugh . After further lobbying from Robertson and intervention by King George V , Lloyd George lost the support of the British War Cabinet and had to back down . At another conference in London ( 12 – 13 March ) Lloyd George stressed that the BEF must not be “ mixed up with the French Army ” , and Haig and Nivelle met with Robertson and Lyautey to settle their differences . French Doubts about the Offensive . Between 16 March and 20 March 1917 , the Germans withdrew from the Noyon salient and a smaller salient near Bapaume . The French General Franchet d ' Esperey , commander of the Northern Army Group , asked Nivelle if he could attack the Germans as they withdrew . Nivelle believed that that action would disrupt his operational plan , and refused d ' Esperey ' s request as a result . Nivelle has since been deemed to have missed his only real opportunity to disrupt the German withdrawal . Lyautey resigned after being shouted down in the French Chamber ( 15 March ) and the Briand government fell ( 19 March ) . Confidence in Nivelle ' s planned offensive did not improve when Paul Painlevé was appointed to become the French Minister of War , as Painlevé had little faith in Nivelle ' s concepts . Robertson described Nivelle as a commander “ with a rope round his neck ” . Philippe Pétain , over whose head Nivelle had been promoted to become commander - in - chief , wanted to launch a major attack against the Germans near Reims . The proposal is considered to have likely resulted in considerable difficulties for the Germans , but Nivelle refused because Petain ' s offensive would delay Nivelle ' s offensive for two weeks . General Micheler , commander of the French Reserve Army Group , which was to exploit the expected breakthrough on the Aisne , had serious misgivings about the upcoming battle . In a letter to Nivelle on 22 March , Micheler argued that the French might not break through as quickly as Nivelle wanted , as the Germans had reserves available , and had strengthened their defenses along a key sector of the Aisne . The other commanders of the French army groups also had concerns , but Nivelle did not make any major adjustments to his plan . Assisted by Colonel ( and former Minister of War ) Adolphe Messimy , Micheler communicated his worries to Prime Minister Alexandre Ribot . On 6 April , Nivelle met with Micheler , Pétain and several politicians , including President Poincaré and Minister of War Painlevé at Compiegne . The investigation made the mistake of questioning Nivelle ' s subordinates in front of him . Painlevé argued that the Russian Revolution meant that France shouldn ' t expect any major help from Russia , and that the offensive should be delayed until American forces were available and could get involved . Micheler and Petain said that they doubted the French force allocated to the attack could penetrate beyond the second line of the German defences , and suggested a more limited operation . Poincaré , summing up the discussions , said that the offensive should proceed , but that it should be halted if it failed to rupture the German front . At this point , Nivelle offered to resign if his plan was not accepted but the politicians declared their complete confidence in him . Thus Nivelle ' s plan went unchanged despite the doubts expressed by the other generals and he was under greater pressure to achieve decisive results . Prime Minister Ribot said , " Our hand has been forced : It is too late to go back " . On 4 April , during a German attack south of the Aisne , the secret plans of the French assault were captured but Nivelle did not alter his course . Nivelle Offensive . After three postponements , the Nivelle Offensive began on 16 April 1917 . It started a week after British forces had attacked near Arras . Nivelle made several declarations which improved the morale of the French troops involved : " “ L ’ heure venue ! Confiance ! Courage ! Vive la France ! ” " . Edmonds claimed Nivelle said “ The German Army will run away ; they only want to be off ” . Due to the fact that the preliminary bombardment against the Germans was markedly less effective than expected , and the lack of a sufficient number of French howitzers , the desired French breakthrough was not achieved on the first day of the battle . Crown Prince Wilhem , in his memoirs , tells of the wonderment of the German troops at these futile but heroic attacks : " The commander of a machine - gun company . . . described to me the overwhelming view of the battleground , on which France ' s best regiments were being destroyed in continually renewed , hopeless attacks " . ( Griffiths , p . 39 ) In the first day of the attack , 16 April , there had been 120 , 000 casualties ; [ probable inconsistency with " 96 , 125 casualties by 25 April " indicated infra ] Nivelle had said there would be about 10 , 000 . Nivelle had promised the Government that the attack would either be a success or be stopped . But obviously he did not have the same interpretation of ' success ' as them ; he ordered the attacks to continue . On the 19th , Minister Paul Painleve came to see him to get the offensive stopped ; but Nivelle was convinced that the attacks must continue . Gradually the whole thing had developed into the Somme - like action that all had feared . ( Griffiths , p . 39 ) By 20 April , the French took 20 , 000 prisoners and 147 guns , which is considered to be " impressive results by the standards of previous years . " However a decisive breakthrough on the Aisne had not been achieved . The French had suffered 96 , 125 casualties by 25 April , the offensive had led to a shell shortage in France , the French medical services broke down , and the delay of transporting French wounded from the front - line was demoralising . By the end of its first week , the attack was stalled , and Nivelle was losing control . Micheler convinced Nivelle to reduce the scope of the offensive , with the goal now only to secure all of the Chemin des Dames and capture Reims . Nivelle became increasingly depressed over the course of the offensive as his orders were under a great degree of scrutiny by the French government . On 29 April , Nivelle ' s authority was undermined by the appointment of Pétain as Chief of the General Staff , and thus the main military adviser to the government . Although the French captured parts of the Chemin des Dames on 4 – 5 May , this was not sufficient to " repair Nivelle ' s crumbling reputation . " After the Nivelle Offensive . When the offensive ended on 9 May , 187 , 000 French casualties had been sustained . Although this was much less than the casualties in the Battle of Verdun , Nivelle had predicted a great success , and the country was bitterly disappointed . Petain replaced Nivelle as Commander - in - Chief on 15 May . In December 1917 Nivelle was sent to serve as Commander in Chief of the French army in North Africa , an appointment which effectively removed him from direct involvement in the conduct of the war . He returned to France after the end of the First World War in November 1918 , retiring from the military in 1921 . He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour and the Military Medal . Nivelle died on 22 March 1924 and was buried in the Invalides in Paris . Legacy . The British Official Historian wrote that the attempt at breakthrough had failed but that the French had gained ' considerable advantages ' . " By the 20th of April they had in their hands over 20 , 000 prisoners and 147 guns ; the railway from Soissons to Reims was freed , the enemy had been driven out of the Aisne valley west of the Oise — Aisne Canal ; the German second position had been captured south of Juvincourt ; and in Champagne some of the most important ' monts ' had been taken . The German counter - attacks , successful at the beginning , were becoming less and less so as time went on . In particular , a great effort made on the 19th against the Fourth Army , when three divisions were thrown in between Nauroy and Moronvilliers , failed completely . " Other historians have been less generous about Nivelle ' s actions during the First World War . Julian Thompson contends that Nivelle was " careless of casualties , " that he was a " disastrous choice to succeed Joffre as commander - in - chief , " and that the planning for the Nivelle Offensive was " slapdash " . In the book " World War 1 : 1914 – 1918 " , the execution of the Nivelle Offensive is considered to have been " murderous . " David Stevenson says that the attack on the Chemin des Dames was a " disaster . " Nivelle is also considered positively in some ways . In " The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War " , he is described as " a competent tactician as a regimental colonel in 1914 " , that his creeping barrage tactics were " innovative " , and that he was able to galvanize " increasingly pessimistic public opinion in France " in December 1916 . " J Rickard believes Nivelle ' s push for a greater development of the tank contributed to its improvement by 1918 , and he also says that Nivelle was a " gifted artilleryman " . The Nivelle Offensive is blamed by some historians for starting the French army mutinies of 1917 . Tim Travers states that " the heavy French casualties of the Nivelle offensive resulted in French army mutinies " , and David Stevenson proposes that " the Nivelle offensive - or more precisely the decision to persist with it - precipitated the French mutinies of May and June [ 1917 ] . " Mount Nivelle on the Continental Divide in the Canadian Rockies was named for him in 1918 ; summits with the names of other French generals are nearby : Cordonnier , Foch , Joffre , Mangin , and Pétain .