Bloody battle finally acknowledged

It is the first time a head of state has participated in commemorations of this chapter of the Great War. It has long been ignored as it represents errors which cost thousands of lives.

For Hollande the battle has personal significance, as his grandfather, Gustave, then sergeant in the infantry, took part in the assault.

After mobilising one million French troops, the offensive was meant to end the trench warfare but instead soldiers collided with German lines. The terrible conditions turned the offensive into an ordeal for the soldiers, among whom 40,000 died in one week. The assault was suspended before starting again at the beginning of May 1917, again without success.

It was a huge disappointment and the soldiers, exhausted by three years of war, began a wave of mutinies, some of which were punished with executions.

The president is visiting sites of the battle, such as the Caverne du Dragon (Cave of the Dragon), a former quarry made into underground barracks during the battle, which now houses a museum.

He will then visit the German military cemetery Cerny-en-Laonnois, Aisne, before heading to the national necropolis which holds the rest of the French soldiers who lost their lives. There he will chair the official ceremony of the centenary.