Yerres Historical Society
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Société d’Histoire d’Yerres
Yerres Historical Society |
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| General Pétain |
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General Pétain, commander of the 2nd Army, took command at Verdun on February 25, 1916, in the midst of the turmoil, and remained in command until April. He had to counter the German offensives sometimes on one bank of the Meuse, sometimeson the other, or sometimes on both, until the end of March 1916. On the 1st of May, he was appointed head of the Central Army Group (GAC) and was replaced by General Nivelle, supported by General Mangin. General Pétain remains in the popular memory as the winner of Verdun, although this is not the whole truth, but he is the one who held on in a difficult situation; his words: "courage, we'll get them!", the last word of his order of the day of April 10, 1916, have remained as the symbol of French tenacity and resistance. He often disagreed with General Joffre, who "rationed" the means to defend Verdun, as Joffre wanted to build up reserves for the battle of the Somme, which he prepared for the first six months of 1916. On the right, Joffre and Pétain at the 2nd Army headquarters in Souilly, a small village near Verdun. |