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The Chantilly Conferences were a series of three conferences held between 1915 and 1916 by the
Allied Powers of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The conferences were named after
Chantilly, France
Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pa ...
, where the meetings took place.
First Chantilly Conference
Held from July 7, 1915, the first inter-
allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
military conference of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
was convened at
''Grand Quartier Général'' (GQG)
Chantilly, France
Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pa ...
shortly after
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
entered the war against the
Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
. Attending were representatives from Britain (including the
BEF Commander-in-Chief Sir
John French and the BEF Chief of Staff
William Robertson), France (
Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand (; – ) was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 20 January to 23 September 1920 and President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924. His participation in Waldeck-Rousseau's cabinet at the sta ...
, the
Minister of War
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
and
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...
, the Commander-in-Chief), Belgium, Italy, Serbia and Russia. Joffre told the delegates that concerted, coordinated action would create the most favourable conditions for an Allied victory to present themselves. No specific undertakings were agreed upon as a consequence of the conference. A later conference at Chantilly about five months later, was more ambitious in its aims and led to a commitment by the Allies to begin an offensive should an Ally be endangered by the Central Powers.
Second Chantilly Conference
From 8 to 12 December 1915, an Allied military planning conference took place at GQG, Joffre's headquarters in Chantilly with the military representatives of the
Allied powers, France, Britain, Russia, Serbia and Italy, to form a common strategy for 1916 against the Central Powers. The British representatives were the BEF Commander-in-Chief Sir John French and
Chief of the Imperial General Staff
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...
Sir Archibald Murray
General Sir Archibald James Murray, (23 April 1860 – 21 January 1945) was a British Army officer who served in the Second Boer War and the First World War. He was Chief of Staff to the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in August 1914 but ap ...
(in their final days in those roles before being replaced by Douglas Haig and Robertson respectively). General
Carlo Porro Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to:
* Carlo (name)
*Monte Carlo
* Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...
(it) represented Italy. Joffre proposed and his Allied counterparts concurred that the offensives of the Allied armies on the Western Front should be delivered simultaneously or close enough so that the Central Powers would be unable to transport reserves from one front to another".
[Daille, Joffre et la guerre d'usure, p. 256] The coordinated offensives were planned to commence as soon as possible, with local, limited attacks taking place in between, further to enervate the enemy, weather permitting.
From 12 to 13 March 1916 another meeting at Chantilly endorsed the plan for synchronised attacks, Russia to begin with an offensive at about 15 May and the rest joining in about two weeks later. Serbian troops had been re-equipped and were to be transferred to Salonika, the Italian army in Albania and the Franco-British
''Armée d'Orient'' in Macedonia would indefinitely maintain the threat of an attack. The delegates also agreed that the blockade on the Central Powers should be increased.
Third Chantilly Conference
From 15 to 16 November 1916, the Allied generals met at Chantilly and the political leaders met in Paris before a combined session. In a memorandum, Joffre wrote that the combined offensive had shaken the Central Powers in 1916 and that a spring offensive should exploit this in France and against Bulgaria. Joffre suggested that the Russian army could be re-equipped, with arms and equipment sent from the west, to knock Bulgaria out of the war. Joffre wanted a bigger offensive on the Western Front than that of 1916 and for it to begin in February, to prevent the Central Powers from forestalling the Allies as they had in 1916 but the British claimed that they could not be ready until May and the Russian and Italian delegations followed suit. At the conclusion of the meeting, all agreed to a plan that would have decisive effect but that the February deadline was unachievable. Considerable time was devoted to discussion of the Balkans and the defeat of Bulgaria by attacks from the east and south and agreed that the force at Salonika be augmented, provided that troops were not diverted from France. The military leaders met with the politicians, with some disagreement about a force of 23 divisions for Salonika.
Aristide Briand
Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...
said that both meetings came to the same conclusions but
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
claimed that it was "little better than a farce". Before planning could begin in detail, Joffre was sacked and replaced by
Robert Nivelle
Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in the ...
who substituted an altogether more ambitious plan for 1917.
Citations
References
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External links
6-8 "Décembre 1915, Chantilly: La Grande Guerre change de rythme" François Cochet. ''Revue historique des armées''
{{World War I
World War I conferences
1915 conferences
European theatre of World War I