Search results for French Army.
11 November 1918 Sdt Augustin Trébuchon
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The last French soldier to be killed in action during the Great War, Augustin was the eldest of five children, Augustin was orphaned during his teenage years and, prior to enlistment in his compulsory military service, worked as a communal shepherd in order to keep the family together. He was also an accomplished accordion player who was often re…
7 November 1914 : Sdt Claudius Descotes
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Joseph Claudius was living at 33, Quai du Bassin, Roanne, Loire at the time of his enlistment. Due to embark on his compulsory military service in the October 1914 intake, he was called into service early and was enlisted into the army on 3rd August 1914. Within a couple of months, he had been promoted to Soldat 1er Cl. He found himself servin…
9 May 1915: Jacques Eugène Valfort
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Jacques was in preparation for his compulsory military service when war broke out in 1914. Called up into the 17th Infantry Regiment at Epinal in September 1914, he was soon serving at the front and, by the end of 1914 was located in the Artois sector where he was to remain for his entire service. Jacques was killed in action during the int…
6 July 1916 : Urbain Pierre Rieucau
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Urbain was a farmer before the war. Having completed his compulsory military service at Rodez in 1911, Urbain was immediately recalled upon the declaration of war and was in action at the Battle of Morhange in August 1914 - Morhange being an area of France annexed by the Germans in 1871. The remainder of the year saw Urbain in action on th…
The French on the Somme: From Serre to the River Somme – August 1914 – 30 June 1916
Pen & Sword, £14.99, 234pp., softback, ills, maps, index, appendices, notes and refs, bibliog. ISBN: 978–152–672–240–9 This is the second of five books about the French Army on the Somme planned by David O’Mara. His first, covering the French action on the Somme in 1916, appeared in 2018 and provided an outstanding introduction to what is,…
Rescheduled: 'Entente Cordially' a talk by Paul Handford
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Join us for a fascinating talk by Paul Handford on the little-known subject of the British Volunteers serving in the French Army in the Vosges Mountains. The talk is the result of his detailed research and visiting the Vosges and highlight this unique and well preserved area. Hartmannswillerkopf - The Vosges (Photo: Chris Preston) …
French military justice from the monarchy to WWI by Francois Wikart
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At the time of the monarchy In the French Army they are corporal punishments but death penalties. All those are discretionary sanctions left to the high ranking officers. With the Revolution things change. The death penalty is liberally used by the court of justice. Most dereliction of duty is considered as threatening the newly born Republic so a…
Ep. 181 – The Nivelle Offensive of 1917 – Dr David Murphy
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Author Dr David Murphy, a lecturer in military history and strategic studies at Maynooth University in Ireland, talks about his recent book, Breaking Point of the French Army, which looks at the failed Nivelle Offensive of 1917. This book is published by Pen & Sword.
Flesh and Steel during the Great War. The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare by Michel Goya.
£25.00, Pen & Sword, 323pp, index, notes and refs. ISBN: 9781473886964. Michel Goya served in the French Army from 1983 to 2009. His considerable operational experience has strongly influenced his writing. His aim in Flesh and Steel is to explain how an army of millions of men was transformed in four years. Goya draws on three sources: the…
Entente Cordially - Paul Handford
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Join us for a fascinating talk by Paul Handford on the little-known subject of the British Volunteers serving in the French Army in the Vosges Mountains.
The talk is the result of his detailed research and visiting the Vosges and highlight this unique and well-preserved area.
Ep. 221 – The Battle of Verdun 1917 – Christina Holstein
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Historian and author Christina Holstein about her research into the 1916 Battle of Verdun during the Great War.
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Ep. 225 - The Battle of Verdun 1917 and the battlefield today - Christina Holstein
Historian and author Christina Holstein about her research into the 1917 Battle of Verdun and the battlefield today.
'Red Trousers - The story of the French Army in 1914' with Dr. Simon House
The French army which went to war in August 1914 was a very different organisation to that which sat down in a railway carriage with their allies four years later to conclude an armistice with Germany. In this presentation, Dr Simon House will look at structure of the French army in 1914 along with its military strategy and doctrine. Henry Fyfe, A…
Red Trousers – The French Army in 1914 by Simon House
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Red Trousers – The French Army in 1914 by Simon House The French army which went to war in August 1914 was a very different organisation to that which sat down in a railway carriage with their allies four years later to conclude an armistice with Germany. Simon’s talk will look at structure of the French army in 1914 along with its military strat…
A talk by Christina Holstein 'Verdun: The Left Bank'
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Christina Holstein is a leading authority on the Battle of Verdun. For many years she lived close to the battlefield and has explored it in great detail. She regularly conducts tours of the battlefield for individuals or groups and, with her specialized knowledge of the terrain, has acted as consultant to a number of other historians, TV producer…
'Lost Opportunity: The Battle of the Ardennes 22nd August 1914' a talk by Dr Simon House
On 22 August 1914, the nineteenth day of what was to be a four year war, 27,000 French soldiers were killed - killed not ‘Killed, wounded, missing’ - on the Western Front in a series of encounter battles which were generically called ’The Battles of the Frontiers”. This level of casualties dwarfs the 16,000 British soldiers killed on the first day …
'Verdun, August 1917 - The French hit back' by Christina Holstein
Caption: Côte 304 Verdun, after recapture by French troops, 24th August 1917 About the Talk: Contrary to popular opinion, the French army did not cease offensive operations after the disastrous Nivelle Offensive of spring 1917 and the subsequent mutinies. Nor did the fighting at Verdun come to an end in 1916. In reality, the successful French cou…
'Petain and the Poilus: The French Army in World War One by Professor Martin Alexander
Please note that there is no evening meeting in November. This meeting is a daytime meeting at a new venue; The Storey in Lancaster. Petain and the Poilus: Petain and the French Army in World War One. At our first daytime meeting we are having a look at our French Allies in the Great War. The speaker is Martin Alexander (MA, DPhil, FRHis…
Memoirs of the Great War: Complete and Unabridged, Volume I
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Legacy Books Press, (2022) £20.95, 472 pp. maps, b/w photos and index ISBN 978–1–927537– 65–7 It would be difficult to think of a person more suited to command the French army in the first months of the Great War than Joseph Joffre. At a time when all about him were losing their heads, occasionally literally, Joffre kept his. His refusal to acce…
'The Battle of Verdun' - Christina Holstein
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The Essex Branch, in recent memory, has not addressed the Battle of Verdun, something we are putting right with the visit of Verdun expert Christina Holstein to our Hornchurch venue. What was the thinking behind the German offensive of February 1916 and why was Verdun chosen? A thundering opening bombardment brought early success but French determ…
ONLINE: 'Breaking Point of the French Army: The Nivelle Offensive of 1917' with Dr David Murphy
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The presentation will be live and online. In early 1917, General Robert Nivelle emerged as the new commander of the French field armies. Against a backdrop of political squabbling, he prepared plans for a 'final offensive', assuring the French public that he had 'the formula' that would end the war in France's favour. The resulting offe…