Born in 1852, in the Eastern Pyrenes, Joseph Joffre began his military career at the age of eighteen. Showing great leadership potential, he took control of a battery during the Paris Uprising, while still only a cadet. Joffre served in several overseas efforts in Indo-China and North Africa.
In 1894, as a lieutenant-colonel, he captured Timbuktu while leading his troops across North African deserts. As World War I broke out in 1914, Joffre achieved the rank of Chief of the General Staff, making him the senior leader of the French Army. Being a man who would rather take the offensive, rather then the defensive approach, he dismissed the senior officers whom he thought to be defensively minded. These officers were replaced with those of the same thinking of his own. Although Joffre lacked technical and strategical imagination, he earned an honorable reputation for not panicking during times of difficulty. Joffres’ reputation suffered in 1916, as he was blamed for the failure of a breakthrough at the Somme. He was shortly thereafter replaced by General Robert Nivelle. Remaining popular to the French public, he was promoted to Marshall of France.
Joseph Joffre was the most senior officer for France during World War I. He possessed an absolute refusal to accept defeat during battle, which led to his being declared a savior of France. Joffre served as president of the Allied War Council, and held many positions at the Ministry of War during his lifetime. Retiring from military and public life in 1918, he was inducted as a member of the French Academy the following year. Joseph Joffre passed away on January 3, 1931.
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