# Nivelle Offensive fails (1917)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1917-nivelle-offensive-fails
Location: Chemin des Dames
Categories: battle

An ambitious offensive produced heavy losses and triggered a crisis of morale. Within the broader Third Republic period, The Third Republic survived war, the Commune, constitutional crises and fierce ideological conflict. It expanded mass schooling and empire, faced the Dreyfus Affair, fought World War I and entered the troubled interwar era. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Raymond Poincaré (President of the French Republic). Nivelle Offensive fails mattered because it changed the military or territorial balance and influenced the political choices that followed. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Nivelle Offensive fails mattered because it changed the military or territorial balance and influenced the political choices that followed.

Ruler at the time: [Raymond Poincaré](https://history-france.com/rulers/raymond-poincare)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Nivelle Offensive fails](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Nivelle+Offensive+fails&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Nivelle Offensive fails](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Nivelle+Offensive+fails)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)