Logistics overshadowed: the Calais Conference of 1917

Published on 12 March 2025
Submitted by Dr Chris Phillips

This presentation initially looks at the development of British logistics on the Western Front, before focusing on the significance of the Calais Conference of 1917.

Best remembered now for Prime Minister David Lloyd George's attempt to subordinate Sir Douglas Haig under the command of General Robert Nivelle, the Calais conference's original purpose was to discuss the collapsing French rail network and how the two coalition partners could best work together to resolve the challenges confronting them.

The conference caused mistrust between the British civil and military chiefs and set back the cause of a unified allied command until 1918.

Logistics overshadowed: the Calais Conference of 1917
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