1st Battle of the Aisne After the first battle at the Marne in September 1914, the German Army was able to deploy its forces along the north bank of the River Aisne, a tributary of the Oise. The Chemin des Dames Ridge provided a long natural defensive position and the Germans began to dig in. The French Army (5th and 6th) and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) launched a frontal assault at the Aisne on 13th September. They initially won a singe bridgehead but a German counter-attack, drove the Allies back to the river. Fighting continued until 28th September when it was acknowledged that frontal infantry attacks on well-defended positions, would cause heavy casualties and was unlikely to gain a breakthrough. 2nd Battle of the Aisne (16th April, 1917 - 9th May, 1917) In December 1916 Robert Nivelle replaced Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army. Nivelle argued that a massive onslaught on German lines would bring victory in 48 hours. The French War Minister, Hubert Lyautey, General Henri-Philippe Petain and Sir Douglas Haig were all opposed to the plan. When Aristide Briand, the French prime minister supported Robert Nivelle, Lyautey resigned from office. The Nivelle Offensive was launched in April 1917 and involved a million French soldiers on a broad front between Royle and Reims. This included a massive assault on German positions along the River Aisne. On 16th April, 19 divisions of the French Fifth and Sixth Armies, under the command of General Charles Mangin, attacked the German frontline. The German Seventh Army had little difficulty defending its entrenched positions and the French suffered over 40,000 casualties on the first day. The French Army also lost 150 Char Schneider tanks. Nivelle's use of a creeping barrage failed to protect his advancing soldiers. Nivelle refused to accept his strategy was not working and full-scale attacks continued until 20th April. Small gains were made by General Charles Mangin, west of Soissons, but the major breakthrough that Nivelle expected did not take place. Further attacks were ordered and by 5th May, a 4km stretch of the Chemin des Dames Ridge was secured. By the time the 2nd Battle of the Aisne came to an end on 9th May, the French Army had suffered 187,000 casualties. Robert Nivelle was sacked a week later. 3rd Battle of the Aisne (27th May, 1918 - 6th June, 1918) During the 2nd Battle of the Aisne in May 1917, General Charles Mangin, managed to capture a 4km stretch of the Chemin des Dames Ridge from the German Army. A year later, General Erich von Ludendorff, decided to try and win this territory back. On 27th May 1918, a 4,000 gun preliminary bombardment caused heavy casualties in Allied front-line trenches. A gas attack was followed by an infantry advance and by the evening the German Army had gained 15km and were at the River Vesle. The offensive continued and by 30th May, the Germans had captured 50,000 soldiers and 800 guns and were only 90km from Paris. Allied counter-attacks halted the advance by 6th June at the Marne. The French Army suffered 98,000 casualties, and the British Army lost 29,000. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWaisne2.htm
