GEN Edmond Buat & the Heavy Artillery Reserve: A Discussion with Xavier Lewis

GEN Edmond Buat & the Heavy Artillery Reserve: A Discussion with Xavier Lewis

Author: Mike Cunha March 19, 2025 Duration: 1:10:23

My good friend Xavier Lewis comes on the podcast to discuss his dissertation topic.

 

General Edmond Buat had an idea and devised a plan to defeat the German army on the Western front in World War I. A study of his diary, the notes he wrote and his later writings on German generals Ludendorff  and Hindenburg, shows how his plan and the Réserve Générale de l'Artillerie Lourde (Heavy Artillery General Reserve, "RGAL") he created constitute an incipient form of operational art as well as the basis for the French Army's offensives in the summer of 1918.

 

Xavier's research considers how Buat's diary, his writings, and notes reveal his role in developing the plans for the 1918 offensives and how the RGAL was conceived as an instrument specially adapted for them. It also shows how those plans represented an important conceptual shift in operational thinking to find a new way to expel the German army from French territory. It focuses on the ideas behind the creation of the RGAL, not on the political, industrial and procurement aspects and seeks to plug a gap identified by historian Sir Michael Howard who complained that:  "British military historians […] found it difficult to focus on an analysis of the operations themselves."

 

Do listen for a great conversation.

 

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Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on BlueSky at @WW1podcast.bsky.social:

 

https://bsky.app/profile/ww1podcast.bsky.social

 

and the BFWWP website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or concerns. 

 

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Hosted by Mike Cunha, Battles of the First World War Podcast is a dedicated exploration of the Great War’s defining confrontations. Each episode focuses on a single battle, moving beyond dates and maps to examine the intricate decisions, tactical realities, and human experiences that shaped these events. Cunha’s approach is to unpack the how and why, piecing together the sequence of command choices, logistical challenges, and frontline conditions that led to each clash’s outcome. Within this framework, the podcast gives voice to the individuals-soldiers, nurses, officers, and civilians-whose personal stories are woven into the larger narrative of this titanic twentieth-century struggle. Listening feels less like a lecture and more like a detailed, respectful reconstruction, where the scale of history is measured in both grand strategy and individual courage. For anyone seeking to understand the First World War beyond the textbook summaries, this series offers a thorough and compelling audio journey into the battles that changed the world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Battles of the First World War Podcast
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