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Article: Vimy (Ridge): prelude and aftermath.
- Article from:
- Esprit de Corps
- Article date:
- March 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 S.R. Taylor Publishing. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Lloyd George became Prime Minister of England in December 1916, just as the shock of 420,000 battle casualties from the Somme turned British sensibilities against more frontal assaults.
In response to public sentiment, Lloyd George favoured a vague concept of opening a second front at some unspecified place. Considering the unhappy adventure at Gallipoli the previous year, it was an idea whose time had not yet come again. During a train stop in Paris en route from a futile conference in Rome, the Prime Minister was put upon by a smooth-talking Frenchman who had a plan which would end the war in 48 hours.
General Robert Nivelle proposed a joint ...