Grandmaison, Louis

Grandmaison, Louis 

Born 1861; died 1915. French military theoretician, general (1914).

In 1894, Grandmaison graduated from the Higher Military School. He was the most brilliant exponent of the French offensive doctrine, which was shared by the General Staff and some of the generals. Grandmaison propagated the idea of attacking under any circumstances. He carried the offensive strategy to an absolute rejection of any defense; a defensive orientation in his opinion leads to inevitable defeat. Grandmaison’s theory of waging only decisive offensive actions was not backed up by an adequate supply of firepower in the French Army. The very first battles in 1914 during World War I showed the groundlessness of Grandmaison’s theory.

WORKS

Podgotovka frantsuzskoi pekhoty k boiu. St. Petersburg, 1908. (Translated from French.)
Dva soobshcheniia, sdelannye ofitseram General’nogo shtaba (fev-ral’ 1911): ideia obespecheniia uspekha i boi krupnykh voiskovykh soedinenii. St. Petersburg, 1912. (Translated from French.)