Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre

Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, (1852 - 1931) French general, became prominent in the battles of World War I. After a colonial career in military engineering he rose to become French commander in chief (1911) and Marshal of France. Despite the debacle of 1914 as the German army executed the Schlieffen Plan, Joffre helped to retrieve the situation through retreat and counterattack (First Battle of the Marne). But General Robert Georges Nivelle[?] replaced him as commander in chief in 1916.