Another interesting point about the Roman military is that there was no standing army during the Republic, troops were only raised as needed. It could be for an extended campaign that would take several years, but at the end of the campaign, the legions would be disbanded - a major social issue was land for the demobilized veterans in the late Republic after the property qualifications for military duty were lifted. Our society could use some Roman virtue about now. Too damned many free riders on the few who serve voluntarily.
When the offensive ended in early May in bloody disaster, it caused the ranks of the French army to mutiny. Whole regiments refused orders to advance or to head for the front. On May 15 the French government dismissed Nivelle and replaced him with Pétain, who set about to restore discipline. France suppressed details about the mutiny at the time, but later estimates suggest that 49 soldiers convicted of mutiny were executed. In personal visits to more than 100 French divisions, Pétain calmly assured the troops that there would be no more offensives like the one Nivelle had launched. Although the incident could have been disastrous for the French, the German intelligence service gained no reliable information about the mutinies until after Pétain had restored order.
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