ABSTRACT
New artillery positions needed to be built and the guns stationed there needed to re-register on a range of enemy targets, some new and some old. While 77e and 34e Divisions d'Infanterie (DIs) found themselves in radically different situations on 12 May they both had to deal with similar situations, the study of which provides some insight into the experience and workings of a French infantry division in the First World War. Between 15 May and 15 June Tenth Army launched a never-ending series of small, partial offensives whose goal was to eliminate the problem areas on the flanks of the 77e and Moroccan divisions. From mid-May until early June there was a long dialogue between General Maistre and his subordinate commanders in which Maistre did everything in his power to try to get his corps to use more effective methodology in all aspects of trench warfare. Offensively, the French had a number of issues to deal with as well.
