THE BATTLES OF THE ARDENNES - 1870, 1914, 1940. The Unexpected Fate of the French Army

On the eve of the three great European conflicts of 1870, 1914, and 1940, the French army enjoyed an uncontested reputation for excellence. The geopolitical context, the play of alliances, the motivations and intentions of the German adversary were certainly very different from one era to the next; yet France's military power was taken very seriously nonetheless. The comparative study of military campaigns fought in the geographical theatre of the Belgian and French Ardennes illustrates the fate of a French army elevated to the pinnacle of its reputation at the end of the Second Empire and annihilated 70 years later amid the ruins of the Third Republic.

At a time when the European continent is once again the theatre of high-intensity warfare, it seems opportune to analyse what, in the past, led our armies to the disasters of August 1870, August 1914, and May 1940. Is the French army condemned to be unable — or unwilling — to prepare and conduct an entry into campaign, whatever the period considered?

Far from a caustic indictment, this essay in the form of a triangular analysis of these three decisive military operations aims to identify the root causes of the intrinsic vulnerabilities of an army whose vast majority of officers, non-commissioned officers, enlisted men, and civilian personnel have always demonstrated exceptional courage in the most tragic of ordeals.