Face au Dragon - Le Chemin des Dames

By 1917, after three years of conflict, the First World War had already claimed millions of lives. The Battle of the Somme alone left nearly 450,000 dead and more than 600,000 wounded on both sides.

General Joffre was replaced by General Robert Nivelle, who wanted to continue Joffre's plans and set up a joint attack with the British against German forces.

• Originally scheduled for the end of February, the offensive was postponed for various reasons • Decision made to attack on two fronts: British at Arras sector, French at Chemin des Dames • Goal was to finish the war by hitting the enemy fast and hard

One million men, 6000 guns and their shells were brought up to flush out the forces of General Erich Ludendorff.

The multiple postpones of the offensive allowed German intelligence services to unveil the French plans.

From March 15 to 19, 1917, Ludendorff's troops carefully retreated to the Craonne plateau to reduce the frontline to only 70 km.

• Germans burned down buildings during their retreat • Blew up roads and undermined the fields • Dried up water sources to hinder French advance

French forces were forced to hastily catch up to the new frontline while losing their support infrastructure and advancing with difficulty through a landscape of death.

On April 16, 1917, soldiers were awake at 3:30 in the morning to prepare the first assault wave. At 6 o'clock, the whistles sounded and the battle began.

Paul Clerfeuille of the 2nd assault wave recounted encountering scattered dead and dying soldiers, including Captain Renard killed 10 minutes before. He realized they were far behind schedule and not advancing as planned toward Craonne and the valley of Ailette.

The trench of the Balcony was a strategic place held by the Germans that French soldiers had to reclaim during this first offensive, resulting in many losses.

French soldiers had to climb a very steep slope and were picked by machine guns placed every 5 to 10 meters, protected in German hiding places.

On the 30km stretch of Chemin des Dames, almost 50 million shells fell in total. Each shell could split into almost 800 fragments of burning iron shards projected at nearly 2500 km/h.

French artillery, which was supposed to destroy German fortifications, only barely scratched them. German defenses remained fully operational when French soldiers advanced.

• Commander Bossut led 128 Schneider tanks in the first massive attack of such devices in history • French tanks weighed 13 tons, moved 5km/h on flat ground and 3km at best on rough terrain • Equipped with two machine guns firing at 500m and a 75mm gun with 200m range

German 77mm guns could hit targets at over one kilometer. Commander Bossut was killed in his cockpit, almost a quarter of tanks broke down, and the vast majority were lost in battle.

From April 16th to 20th in just 4 days, more than 40,000 injured flooded back to lines, health camps and hospitals. Medical services were completely overwhelmed.

• Slight injuries were evacuated first while badly wounded sometimes waited three days before transport • Wounded were stored wherever possible, sometimes forgotten in barracks without care • Even when locations of wounded were known, logistics did not follow and men died waiting for care

Xavier Chaila of the 8th Cuirassier reported that some wounded stayed 48 hours on a canal bank under rain, cold and shells. Rene Munnier of the 171st Infantry Regiment spent 30 hours on the battlefield with a shrapnel wound, alone for hours without care.

The medical system's failure meant that wounded soldiers, already suffering, faced additional delays and lack of treatment that contributed to preventable deaths.

On April 25, General Nivelle admitted the offensive was a failure. While Craonne was released, the Germans remained on the plateau. Advances were few and losses were significant.

• Nearly 18,000 confirmed dead • More than 30,000 deaths according to some sources • 20,000 missing soldiers • 65,000 wounded in 15 days of offensive

After the monumental failure, there was a wave of indiscipline never seen before. Despair was proportional to the success that had been promised. Soldiers refused to go back in trucks to assault.

Nivelle was totally disavowed and dismissed on May 15, 1917. General Philippe Pétain took his place as commander in chief of the French army.

• The Russian Revolution in February 1917 influenced soldier morale • Women worked in factories and sewing factories to replace men, leading to strikes in the rear • Front-line soldiers heard about women's exhaustion and strikes, making conditions unbearable • Global circumstances combined to accelerate the wave of indiscipline

Men refused to go back in trucks to return to assault. This was a refusal of obedience. The fear was that Germans would take advantage to attack.

Pétain took command with the main idea to reaffirm military justice. General Pétain himself could order, without referring to the President of the Republic, an execution of a mutineer.

Soldiers sang the 'Song of Craonne' which became a symbol of the mutinies. The song expressed everything about the state of mind and bruised soul of the men, created on the tune of popular songs.

The Cavern of the Dragon was an old quarry turned into barracks housing German troops. Since 1915, it provided soldiers with relative safety, shielded from bombing and covering a large territory with 9 exits.

• Tunnels converted for living with dormitories, a small hospital, a chapel, a well and a cemetery • Electricity was installed throughout • Equipped with a ventilation system to prevent gas spreading

French troops released combat gas in the tunnels early morning. After bombarding the cave for nearly three hours, French forces came out of trenches around 18h to seize the tunnels with flamethrowers deployed.

The Dragon Cave's capture revealed another reality of the war: underground clashes in different quarries of Chemin des Dames, equally violent but less known than famous trench fights.

General Pétain launched an offensive on the fort of Malmaison from October 17, 1917, aiming to take the ridge of Chemin des Dames that controlled its access.

• Nearly 1800 artillery pieces moved and spread over 12km • German positions pounded for 5 days • Just under three million shells dropped on Malmaison • Explosive and gas shells saturated the air so much that Germans could not remove their masks, preventing them from eating

From October 23rd, French soldiers progressed protected by improved Schneider tanks and new Saint-Chamond tanks, much better equipped than previously used models.

The operation was a victory ending the Battle of Chemin des Dames and restored morale to men who for the first time in months progressed on the front. However, Chemin des Dames remained a bitter military failure and objectives could not be reached.