Joseph Joffre
Joseph Joffre | |
|---|---|
Marshal Joffre, unknown date after 1916 | |
| 23rd Chief of the Army Staff of France | |
| In office 29 July 1911 – 14 December 1916 | |
| President | Armand Fallières Raymond Poincaré |
| Prime Minister | Joseph Caillaux Raymond Poincaré Aristide Briand Louis Barthou Gaston Doumergue Alexandre Ribot Rene Viviani |
| Minister of War | Adolphe Messimy Alexandre Millerand Albert Lebrun Eugène Étienne Joseph Noulens Théophile Delcassé Joseph Gallieni Pierre Roques Hubert Lyautey |
| Preceded by | Augustin Dubail |
| Succeeded by | Robert Nivelle |
| 1st Commander of the Grand Quartier Général | |
| In office 2 August 1914 – 27 December 1916 | |
| President | Raymond Poincaré |
| Minister of War | Adolphe Messimy Alexandre Millerand Joseph Gallieni Pierre Roques Hubert Lyautey |
| Chief of Staff | Himself Robert Nivelle |
| Preceded by | GDG created |
| Succeeded by | Robert Nivelle |
| 24th Commander of the 2nd Army Corps | |
| In office 31 May 1908 – 23 February 1910 | |
| President | Armand Fallières |
| Minister of War | Maurice Berteaux Eugène Étienne Georges Picquart Jean Brun |
| Chief of Staff | Jean Brun Édouard Laffon de Ladebat |
| Preceded by | Victor-Constant Michel |
| Succeeded by | Georges Picquart |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 January 1852 |
| Died | 3 January 1931 (aged 78) |
| Spouses | Amélie Pourcheyroux
(m. 1873; died 1874)Henriette Penon (m. 1905) |
| Parents |
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| Alma mater | École Polytechnique |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Second Empire Third Republic |
| Branch/service | French Army |
| Years of service | 1869–1916 |
| Rank | Generalissimo |
| Commands | List
|
| Battles/wars | |
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre LH OM GCB (French: [ʒozɛf ʒɔfʁ]; 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 regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans at the strategically decisive First Battle of the Marne in September 1914.
His political position waned after unsuccessful offensives in 1915, the German attack on Verdun in 1916, and the disappointing results of the Anglo-French offensive on the Somme in 1916. At the end of 1916 he was promoted to Marshal of France, the first such elevation under the Third Republic, and moved to an advisory role, from which he quickly resigned. Later in the war he led an important mission to the United States.