Nivelle Offensive (Caronne Afternoon)

On 16 April, waves of French infantry moved against the German trenches. The German front trench line was taken and, when the French tanks arrived, the tanks pushed through the second line. The Germans in the second line, however, did …

1917-04-16

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On 16 April, waves of French infantry moved against the German trenches. The German front trench line was taken and, when the French tanks arrived, the tanks pushed through the second line. The Germans in the second line, however, did not panic at the sight of the French tanks. The German units remained in cover to allow the tanks to pass and then emerged to engage the French infantry that were moving forward. At the end of the day, the French infantry could not continue and pulled back along with the remaining tanks.

Berry-au-Bac, France

The Nivelle Offensive, was a Franco-British operation on the Western Front in the First World War. The French part of the offensive was intended to be strategically decisive by breaking through the German defences on the Aisne front within 48 hours, with casualties expected to be around 10,000 men. A preliminary attack was to be made by the French Third Army at St. Quentin and the British First, Third and Fifth armies at Arras, to capture high ground and divert German reserves from the French fronts on the Aisne and in Champagne. The main offensive was to be delivered by the French on the Chemin des Dames ridge, with a subsidiary attack by the Fourth Army. The final stage of the offensive was to follow the meeting of the British and French armies, having broken through the German lines, then the pursuit of the defeated German armies towards the German frontier.

Wikipedia: Nivelle Offensive

German

French