Chantilly

The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located on the east side of the town of Chantilly, 35 km north of Paris. French general Joseph Joffre had his headquaters here during the First World War. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 and the Grand Château, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870. The château is owned by the Institut de France and houses the Musée Condé, which is one of the finest art galleries (second after Louvre) in France and is open to the public.

German Army entered town Chantilly at the beginning of the First World War on September 3rd 1914. After the retreat of the German divisions to the north, the French general Joseph Joffre set up his headquarters in Chantilly because of its good railway connection to Paris.
On December 5, 1915, representatives of the Allied powers gathered at the French headquarters in Chantilly to discuss plans for the coming year.

Under the nominal leadership of general Joffre, the meeting came to the conclusion that the minor fronts that had been opened in places such as Salonika and the Middle East would not be reinforced and that the focus would be on mounting coordinating offensives in Europe. The goal of these was to prevent the Central Powers from shifting troops to defeat each offensive in turn. While the Italians sought to renew their efforts along the Isonzo, the Russians, having made good their losses from the previous year, intended to advance into Poland. (source: A War of Attrition, K. Hickman)

A monument in honor of Marshal Joffre was opened in his presence in 1930 in the Chantilly’s avenue now bears his name.