| This conference was held in Paris, following on the positive start made at the 1st Inter-Allied Conference in June. In the meantime, the offensive in Artois, which for the British meant the Battle of Loos, had been another costly failure. Conference dates: 6th - 8th December 1915 In attendance:
The Conference considered a paper called "The Plan of Action Proposed by France to the Coalition". It called for the Allies to deliver simultaneous attacks with maximum forces in the main theatres (Western and Eastern Fronts) in 1916. It also called for the evacuation of Gallipoli, the strengthening of defences in Egypt and Salonika, the occupation by Italy of Albania and all efforts to keep Rumania free of German control. The meeting unanimously supported these proposals, and added that the wearing down of the enemy would be pursued intensively, "particularly by Powers that still had abundant reserves of men". And that meant Britain. It led inexorably to the Battle of the Somme. |