20th December 1914 - 17th March 1915 - First Battle of Champagne.

... 20th December 1914 - 17th March 1915 - First Battle of Champagne. The consolidation of the trench barrier on the Western Front after the First Battle of Ypres (October - November 1914) did nothing to deter Joffre from seeking an early victory against the Germans and expelling them from French soil. The renewed Allied action in December 1914 was based on a strategy that was to guide French action for the rest of the war: Artois and Champagne, the two sides of the German salient in France, which had its apex west of St. Quentin, would be the primary targets. Once the Germans began to weaken, a third offensive would be launched from Verdun, to cut the enemy's lines of communication south of the Ardennes. Joffre's general winter offensive began in Artois, where it made little progress, and extended along the whole line from Nieuport to Verdun. The main effort was concentrated

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