Robert Nivelle, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetRobert Nivelle
French artillery officer
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Tulle, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
About Robert Nivelle
- Robert Georges Nivelle (French: [niv?l]; 15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War.
- Nivelle was a very capable commander and organizer of field artillery at the regimental and divisional levels.
- In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in the Battle of Verdun, leading counter-offensives that rolled back the German forces in late 1916.
- During these actions he and General Charles Mangin were already accused of wasting French lives. Following the successes at Verdun, Nivelle was promoted to commander-in-chief of the French armies on the Western Front in December 1916, largely because of his persuasiveness with French and British political leaders, aided by his fluency in English.
- He was responsible for the Nivelle Offensive at the Chemin des Dames, which had aroused skepticism already in its planning stages.
- When the costly offensive failed to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front, a major mutiny occurred, affecting roughly half the French Army, which conducted no further major offensive action for several months.
- Nivelle was replaced as commander-in-chief by Philippe Pétain in May 1917.
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