ABSTRACT
Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre assumed command of the French army on 28 July 1911. At 59, Messimy's third choice for the new post of Chief of the General Staff possessed an undistinguished military record. The son of a Pyrenean barrel-maker, General Joffre had fought in the Franco-Prussian war while a student at the Ecole Polytechnique; subsequently, much of his army service had been in the French colonies. Joffre shared most of the strong convictions and prejudices of the offensive school of military theorists. Regardless of their ultimate location, these offensive assaults were expected to bring about the decisive battle so dear to the offensive theorists. The major attack would be directed between Metz and Strasbourg, with the French troops around Verdun taking offensive action against any German moves from Metz and Thionville. A semi-reserve force, it constituted Joffre's one concession to the counter offensive school of French strategy, his one concession to the realities of his strategic dilemma.
