Nivelle, Robert Georges

Nivelle, Robert Georges

(rôbĕr` zhôrzh nēvĕl`), 1856–1924, French general. His services in World War I gained him the post of chief assistant to General Pétain at VerdunVerdun
, town (1990 pop. 23,427), Meuse dept., NE France, in Lorraine, on the Meuse River. A strategic transportation center, Verdun has varied industries and is situated in an agricultural region.
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, and he was later given the command of the Verdun sector. He succeeded (1916) General Joffre as commander in chief of the French armies, but the signal failure of the 1917 Aisne offensive lost him the post; he was given a command in North Africa.