Grand Quartier Général (1914–1919)

The Grand Quartier Général (abbreviated to GQG or Grand QG in spoken French) was the general headquarters of the French Army during the First World War. It served as the wartime equivalent of the Conseil supérieur de la guerre and had extensive powers within an area defined by the French parliament. The GQG was activated by parliament on 2 August 1914, after the violation of French borders by German military patrols, and remained in existence until 20 October 1919. GQG was commanded by the chief of staff, assisted by a varying number of subordinate generals, and had representatives to the French government and president. The headquarters of GQG was originally at Vitry-le-François in the Marne department but rapid German advances in the early stages of the war forced its withdrawal to Chantilly, near Paris, by November 1914. It remained there for much of the rest of the war. General Joseph Joffre served as the first chief of staff of GQG from the start of the war until December 1916, when he was replaced by General Robert Nivelle. Nivelle in turn was replaced in May 1917, after the failure of his spring offensive, by General Philippe Pétain, who retained command of GQG until its dissolution in 1919. In April 1918 the Grand Quartier Général des Armées Alliées (GQGA) was established under General Ferdinand Foch as an equivalent organisation with authority for Allied operations in France. GQG was organised into a complex series of departments and bureaux that changed frequently throughout the war. This structure has been criticised by historians for failing to encourage co-operation between departments and for widespread infighting. There were also concerns about the autonomy and power vested in GQG. French policy, laid down in 1913, had been for the two most important field armies, the north and north-east, to retain operational independence. GQG, under Joffre, assumed control of these armies in December 1915 and retained them until his replacement by Nivelle when the Minister of War, Joseph Gallieni, raised concerns that the pre-war policy was being violated.