The major battles of 1916

Datum: 
Mittwoch, 22. Juni 2016 bis Freitag, 24. Juni 2016
Ort: 
Paris
Deadline: 
Dienstag, 1. Dezember 2015

The commemoration of the battles of 1916 runs the risk of treating the latter as if they are self-evident and thus of reducing them to their purely military aspects, whereas the very use of the term "battle" is anything but self-evident. What Maurice Agulhon described as: "a combined series of assaults, of attempts to break through the front or at least to ‘gnaw away’ at the enemy’s defensive lines and so push back the front" stands in sharp contrast to previous meanings of the term "battle." Indeed, we might ask what a "battle" is in relation to operations covered by the terms: "war", "campaign", "offensive", "combat" or "front"?

The conference will therefore take the "battles" of 1916 in their international dimensions as its problematic. Its object is two-fold: first, to advance knowledge by broadening perspectives and introducing international comparison; second, to introduce a broad audience to the approaches that have renewed the history of the battles of 1916 in recent years, notably on fronts other than the western front.

The conference will be organised around three themes:

1)   The question how the battle was constructed (or reconstructed):

-   by words

-   by actors

-   by the circulation of information and the tales of "survivors"

-   by memory, myths and historiography.

2)   Experiencing battle (i.e.the practices and representations of battle in space and time):

-   Space and different bodily experiences

-   The experience of space and the question of scale

-   The experience of battle in terms of its duration

-   The use of weapons - combat within battle and the changes in combat in 1916

-   Representations of self and other in battle

-   Exiting battle - relief, capture, wounding, desertion, refusal to obey, fraternization.

3)   Supplying battle (i.e everything needed to make battle function):

-   The manpower crisis and transfers of men and matériel between fronts

-   Feeding the soldiers

-   Producing matériel

-   Ensuring the logistics of battle

-   Sustaining or reinforcing morale on the front and at home; re-mobilizations

The timeframe is the whole of the year 1916. The conference will encompass all the major battles, wherever they occurred and whatever their form and nature. This includes naval battles. The three great battles of Verdun, the Somme and the Brusilov offensive in Galicia will naturally occupy a central place. However, the interdependence of these battles and the desire for a comparative approach between different battles and fronts make any narrow definition of the subject impossible.

Proposals for papers have to be sent to the scientific secretariat of the Mission du Centenaire 14-18, 109 Boulevard Malesherbes, 75008 PARIS (alexandre.lafon@centenaire.org). They should consist of an outline of not more than 1,000 words.

The papers selected must be received in full by the end of March 2016, in order to allow their translation into French where necessary.

Papers will not be read out by their authors but will be summarized in a report presented by a rapporteur in order to facilitate a broad discussion, during which the authors will be able to express their ideas.

The working languages of the conference will be French, English and German, with simultaneous translation (Papers in Russian will be accepted)

Conference Venue: TBA (Paris)

Conference organised by the French Commission for the Centenary of the Great War, 1914-1918 (Mission du centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale)

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Contact:

Dr. Alexandre Lafon

Directeur adjoint

GIP "Mission du centenaire de la Première Guerre mondiale"

alexandre.lafon@centenaire.org