Charles Lanrezac

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Charles Lanrezac (July 31, 1852 - January 18, 1925) was a distinguished general of the French field corps at the outbreak of World War I. His command was arguably the most difficult on the Western Front; he had to meet the enveloping right-wing of the German Army that quickly steamrolled Belgium. Although Lanrezac knew retreat to be necessary from the beginning of the war, his superior, General Joseph Joffre, believed that France should stay on the offensive. With the help of the British Expeditionary Force, the French held the line in retreat even after the great defeat at the Battle of the Frontiers in 1914. The French were pushed to within miles of Paris, but the line held at the sacrifice of Lanrezac's career. His harsh criticism of his superiors in the Staff Corps overshadowed his impressive ability to avoid envelopment by the Germans and he was replaced just as the stalemate settled over western Europe.