Talk by Guy Chapman
Professor of Modern History at Leeds University
This year is the centenary of the birth of Marshal Joffre , who in September 1914 decisively halted the German army by the ' miracle ' of his victory at the Marne. Professor Chapman examines the reasons for the disastrous situation Joffre had to overcome, and for his presence in command. These were the result, he suggests, of a series of developments in French society and French military thought since the defeat of 1870.