View online Borrow Buy Freely available Show 0 more links None of your libraries hold this item. Tags What are tags? Public Private login e. Add a tag Cancel Be the first to add a tag for this edition. Lists What are lists? Login to add to list. Be the first to add this to a list. Yet, how could the Parliament assume its controlling role over the government without threatening the national defence or offending public opinion?
This procedure, which had fallen into disuse, was yet provided for in the constitution of the Third Republic. Aristide Briand did not oppose it. The talks during these sessions were kept secret. Yet, at the end of , the secrets shared by hundreds of people were not secret any longer and the committees fuelled rumours among the population ruining public confidence.
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After much effort, the members of these committees managed to have a say in the war situation. They paid regular visits to the frontline and managed to be better informed on the evolution of operations. They also paid visits to the inner zone thus providing the secret committees with much intelligence on war production, the civilian populace, etc. Abel Ferry , who was Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, was also a reservist who fought on the frontline.
He very early denounced the weaknesses of the higher command and the government which tolerated its abuses. He also believed that the GCQ had absolute power like nobody in France before. Ferry, like others, became a parliamentary representative in charge of controlling the armed forces. All things considered, the two chambers played a positive and active role.
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Indeed, as soon as members of the French Parliament and senators gathered in sessions, they urged the government to recover their prerogatives. Yet, General Joffre remained in office. The discontent against the higher command resurfaced at the end of following the failure of the allied forces on the Somme region and the stagnation on the Balkan front. On 12 December , Aristide Briant reshuffled his government. Lyautey was a character, at odds with General Joffre, but unacquainted with the political and military dispute in mainland France.
The military disillusion in the controversy over the defence of Verdun, the failure in the Somme, the invasion of Romania, the stagnation on the Balkan front, etc. A new organisation of the higher command was planned on 13 November A disguised aim of this promotion was to keep General Joffre in the background. General Joffre had to admit defeat and resigned on 27 December. In order to avoid a new political scandal, the victor of the Marne was promoted to field Marshal.
His leaving marked the restoration of the primacy of civilian power over military authority. All hopes therefore focused on the new commander in chief of the armed forces in the North-East: General Georges Nivelle who became famous on the Verdun front the previous year. Under his command, the French army, with huge assets and support through diversionary operations from the British armed forces in the North, was to launch a frontal attack on the Chemin des Dames, one of the most fortified sectors of the German front.
Romain Ducoulombier
Nivelle was convinced of making a breakthrough and exploiting it. Yet, some among the political community and the higher command criticised this plan and blamed Nivelle namely for not taking the terrain into account. Nivelle realised that neither the government nor some commanders trusted him. He offered his resignation, which was refused, and despite their doubts, political and military leaders agreed upon the offensive. Meanwhile, the War Minister planned to appoint a new Chief of Staff to advise him in a technical field as this was provided for the decree on 28 October The Armed forces headquarters entered into a period of changes.
On 11 May, the remit of this position was clearly stipulated: The armed forces headquarters was divided into two groups: As a consequence, following the offensive of Nivelle, the political leaders recovered responsibility for the conduct and the command and control of the war from the GCQ. The French military went through an outburst of mutinies as its Russian allies weakened every day while the American entry into war could only promise reinforcements in the long run. The crisis was first and foremost a military one. The hopes raised by the offensive on the Chemin des Dames and the disappointment that followed due to the military failure contributed to shake public opinion.
The home front was not spared and French public opinion was aware of the troubles on the front, despite media censorship. Some soldiers gave accounts to their relatives of what had happened to them on the battlefield, others spread unrest in the railway stations soldiers on leave.
In addition to this, a social crisis broke out. Until the end of , trade unions were not very active and social movements not numerous. Yet, at the very beginning of the year , male and female civil workers mobilised workers excluded went on strike, particularly in the suburbs of Paris.
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Initially unrest concerned trade unions essentially and the movement was soon contained. At the beginning of May , huge gatherings and strikes spread across other branches of the industry even taking in the defence sector. Once demands were satisfied, strikes were stopped. War weariness gained ground in the country and triggered some unrest. The morale of the population and troops was very low. The high cost of living, the pacifist and internationalist ideas which were gaining ground, the mistrust between the homefront and the front caused a deep moral crisis.
The revolutionary risk was at that time low but many French people were longing for peace. Finally, the year was marked by governmental unrest as four governments followed one another: When Clemenceau came to power as the leader of a center-right government, the decree of October had applied since December But Clemenceau aimed at waging the war until victory was won: He was quite familiar with French political life but had no great military experience.
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He published an increasing number of articles on military issues and dealt in particular with the primacy of civilian power over military command. Then, in the Senate, he presided over the powerful committee of the armed forces. Thanks to his numerous speeches, he gained authority. He then had the assets to lead the war and knew the military issues well. Besides, the decrees allocating the responsibilities of the command and the government applied. He could also rely on a strong majority while abiding by the rules of parliamentary life [13]. While keeping the portfolio of the War Ministry, Clemenceau established himself as the real person responsible for conducting the war.
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Clemenceau gathered a team of loyal servants around him [15] , among whom were some devoted officers: Loyal, experienced, gifted and clever, knowing the war and the frontline, Mordacq shared his military knowledge with Clemenceau and liaised with the higher command [16]. To achieve his aims, he took over the administration of the War Ministry and in particular the armed forces headquarters.
General Mordacq, following a meeting with Clemenceau, wrote: One had to start reforming everything The general chief of staff liaised with the War Ministry and met with the commander in chief of the armed forces on a daily basis. General Mordacq then wrote: This organisation was maintained until the end of From November until November , Clemenceau devoted himself exclusively to the war issues.
Only in May did he turn away from these issues to sort out the problem of strikes as social movements shook the country. He quelled protest violently and allowed the movement run out of steam. A number of leaders were arrested and mobilised workers on strike were sent back to the front. Compared to an authoritarian monarchy, Sembat claimed, a republic was structurally inferior in warfare ; in the case of war, it would have to betray its own principles to not run the risk of defeat.
Thus the preservation of peace was for the Republic and all republicans like Sembat a question of life or death. In spite of the scepticism articulated in Faites un roi, sinon faites la paix , he now had no doubts that France was the victim of German aggression and thus was acting in self-defense. Sembat took his office very seriously. The main problem soon proved to be the coal supply, both for military means and private consumption.
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Since some of the most important French coal fields had fallen under German control, the country now depended more than ever on imports, particularly from the United Kingdom. As minister, Sembat found himself in a difficult position between the demands of the military, the needs of the general public, and the interests of the mine owners in France and abroad. Even if his actions were not unsuccessful, public opinion and parliamentarians made him and his ministry responsible for the various shortages in coal supply that occurred during the first two years of the war.
In December , Sembat, tired from the growing criticism, resigned from office.