Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War

By Robert A. Doughty

As the driving force behind the Allied effort in World War I, France willingly shouldered the heaviest burden. In this masterful book, Robert Doughty explains how and why France assumed this role and offers new insights into French strategy and operational methods.

French leaders, favoring a multi-front strategy, believed the Allies could maintain pressure on several fronts around the periphery of the German, Austrian, and Ottoman empires and eventually break the enemy's defenses. But France did not have sufficient resources to push the Germans back from the Western Front and attack elsewhere. The offensives they launched proved costly, and their tactical and operational methods ranged from remarkably effective to disastrously ineffective.

Using extensive archival research, Doughty explains why France pursued a multi-front strategy and why it launched numerous operations as part of that strategy. He also casts new light on France's efforts to develop successful weapons and methods and the attempts to use them in operations.

An unparalleled work in French or English literature on the war, Pyrrhic Victory is destined to become the standard account of the French army in the Great War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Release date: Jul 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9780674034310

Robert A. Doughty

Brigadier General Robert Doughty retired in July 2005 after forty years of service in the U.S. Army. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1965 and received his Ph.D. from Kansas University in 1979. His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, and Combat Infantry Badge. He served as the Head of the Department of History at the U.S. Military Academy from 1985 until 2005. He is the author of numerous articles and books and currently is working on a paper about Franco-American relations during World War I.

Book preview

Reviews for Pyrrhic Victory

[shrike58 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a must read if you're interested in the conduct of World War I, as the author investigates in great detail the process by which strategic decision occured in France, and how the French government and military coped with disappointment after disappointment in the course of trying to expel the German invader. For me, the best sections examine the great offensive failures of 1915 and how the French prepared for the German offensives of 1918. One also comes away from this book with the impression that the author feels that one should never pass up an opportunity to jab at the British conduct of the war whenever possible. I also wouldn't have minded some more maps.