According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, mutiny is "a situation in which a group of people (such as sailors or soldiers) refuses to obey orders and attempts to take control of the person. who orders them. During World War I, also known as the Great War, mutinies were a problem for all sides, particularly the French. To understand the epidemic of mutiny that the French faced during the Great War and particularly in 1917, it is necessary to understand its causes, which lie in the failure of the Nivelle assault and the differences between " the rear” and the “front”, and to understand what types of “mutinies” France was confronted with. The notorious failure of the Nivelle assault was largely the motivation for the French soldiers who mutinied and refused to march. In early 1917, General Nivelle was named the new commander-in-chief of the French army and he developed a plan that he believed would break through the German lines in just 48 hours and secure victory. “Before him […] were dazzling visions of the opening of the German front by a single crushing blitzkrieg” (Williams 6). The previous commander-in-chief, Joffre, had planned a more gradual and hesitant attack. When Nivelle takes over, he overturns the plan. (Williams 6) According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, “His strategy was to weaken German defenses with artillery and then, with the help of tanks, throw large numbers of troops at the enemy. Nivelle predicted that a “breakthrough” would occur within 48 hours. This would then lead to a crushing defeat of the German army and the end of the war” (crf-usa.com). The assault began on April 16. Unfortunately, Nivelle's long-awaited breakthrough never happened, and within a week "more than 100,000 French soldiers...... middle of paper...... to understand why this happened product, we must understand the causes. of mutiny, which is largely due to the assault on Nivelle and the differences between the "rear" and the "front", and we must understand exactly what the French called mutiny. Works Cited Becker, Jean-Jacques. The Great War and the French people. Trans. Berg Publishers. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. Print "The Mutinies of the French Army during the First World War." crf-usa.org. Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2001. Web. March 2, 2014. Gilbert, Martin. The First World War. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 1994. Print. The Great Illusion. Real. Jean Renoir. 1937. Movie. Merry Christmas. Real. Christian Carion. 2005. Movie. “Mutiny”. Merriam Webster. Merriam-Webster, nd Web. March 2, 2014. A very long engagement. Real. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. 2004. Movie. Williams, John. Mutiny 1917. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1962. Print.