on Facebook
on Twitter
on YouTube
Document Information
Lanrezac, Joffre, and Plan XVII
A discussion, in terms of the qualities of resolution and perception in military leaders, of the careers of General Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre, leader of the French Armies at the outset of World War I, and General Charles Lanrezac, selected by Joffre to conduct the difficult operations of the French left wing and later dismissed. Joffre's position is discussed in the context of Plan XVII, which he and his staff devised between 1911 and 1914 for the conduct of operations against the Germans. Joffre emerges as a hero because of his indomitable will, but his blindness and strategic inadequacy were largely responsible for the heavy price that France paid in the opening engagements of the war. Few remember that it was Lanrezac who deprived the Germans of their opportunity for a major strategic success through his skillful reading of the military situation during these opening engagements.
Support RAND Research — Buy This Product!
Paperback Cover Price: $20.00
Discounted Web Price: $18.00
Pages: 34
Free, downloadable PDF file(s) are available below.
RAND makes an electronic version of this document available for free as a public service. If you find this information valuable, please consider purchasing a paper copy of the full document to help support RAND research.
Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or higher for the best experience.
This product is part of the RAND paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.
Top
RAND® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 1994-2009 RAND Corporation. Last Modified: September 15, 2009 