Joseph Joffre

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(31)

1914

August

01
- France orders general mobilisationOn the afternoon of 1 August 1914 France proclaimed general mobilisation. By mid-August nearly three million men had been called to arms.
06
- Key eventBattle of the Frontiers beginsIn early August 1914 the Battle of the Frontiers began, a series of clashes between French and German armies that lasted until the Battle of the Marne.
26
- General Gallieni becomes military governor of ParisOn 26 August 1914 General Joseph Gallieni became military governor of Paris. His task was to prepare the capital for defence against the approaching Germans.

September

October

November

18
- The French government begins returning to ParisIn the second half of November 1914 the French authorities began a gradual return from Bordeaux to Paris. The government moved back in early December.

December

1915

January

14
- End of the Battle of SoissonsOn 14 January 1915 the French, driven off the heights at Crouy by a German counter-attack, fell back across the flooded Aisne, losing over 5,000 prisoners.

March

July

20
- Key eventStart of the Battle of Le LingeOn 20 July 1915 French chasseurs alpins attacked the German positions on the Linge ridge in the Vosges. The first assault collapsed under fire from bunkers.

September

25
- Key eventSecond Battle of Champagne beginsOn 25 September 1915 two French armies attacked in Champagne. They took the German first line and 14,000 prisoners, but the second position stopped the attack.

October

November

06
- End of the Second Battle of ChampagneOn 6 November 1915 the last fighting of the Second Battle of Champagne died down. German counter-attacks retook the Butte de Tahure and Hill 199 near Massiges.

December

1916

February

21
- Key eventStart of the Battle of VerdunOn 21 February 1916 more than 1,200 German guns opened fire on the French positions at Verdun. A battle began that lasted until December 1916.

March

April

20
- Russian troops in MarseilleOn 20 April 1916 the first men of General Lokhvitsky's 1st Special Infantry Brigade reached Marseille, having come from Moscow via Siberia and the Indian Ocean.

November

15
- Paris and Chantilly conferencesOn 15–16 November 1916 Allied commanders at Chantilly drew up the war plan for 1917, and politicians meeting at the same time in Paris in effect adopted it.

December

1917

May

19
- American division for FranceOn 19 May 1917 the newspapers announced that a division of American regular troops under General Pershing would sail for France as soon as possible.