During the First World War, many French intellectuals served in the French Army and participated in the fighting on the Western Front. In contrast to other countries such as Great Britain, Germany and Austria-Hungary, France did not exempt their intellectuals from service in the military. Other countries protected their artists and intellectuals by having them serve in the rear areas. The first contribution of the French intellectuals was above all their sacrifice. An entire generation of French intellectuals was virtually destroyed before they were able to make their contributions to the intellectual life of France. For example, 239 students at the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure died during the fighting, including 107 students out of a total of 211 who were studying in 1914. At the Ecole libre des Sciences politiques, 340 students were killed during the conflict. The teaching professionals were particularly hard hit during the war. More than 6,000 elementary teachers were lost along with 460 secondary teachers. In higher education, 260 professors were killed during the conflict and about one third of the theology students were lost as well. Other losses included about 14 percent of the seminarians and priests in France. Early in the war, Ernest Psichari, the poet Charles Peguy and the author of the famous novel Le Grand Meaulnes, Alain-Fournier, were killed on the battlefields. Many intellectuals were valued for their technical competencies such as medical doctors or those with other qualifications. Further, many intellectuals provided the leadership within the French Army as well. Other intellectuals who could not serve in the military due to age or health reasons took positions within the French government, such as the sociologist Maurice Halbwachs who served in the Ministry of Armament. Other important intellectuals such as Rolland Romain, Paul Valery and women intellectuals observed the war from a distance and provided important commentaries and analyses of the conflict. Many intellectual war veterans waited until the end of the war to publish their war novels and memories of the war during the 1920s and 1930s. Many of these writers could not write their commentaries immediately following the war, as they needed time to reflect on the war prior to publishing their war novels and commentaries.




Nearly all of the French intellectuals who experienced the war had great difficulties to comprehend the scale of death and destruction that characterized the first modern industrialized war in history. Descriptions and accounts of previous wars were not adequate to describe the horrors of trench warfare and the destructiveness of modern weapons such as artillery, the machine gun and the use of poison gas. Moreover, the great length of the Western Front made it nearly impossible for any one observer to view all of the events taking place on every section of the front. Therefore, the French intellectuals of the Great War period were forced to develop new literary techniques to describe the modern industrial warfare. These intellectuals also grappled with the problem of explaining and documenting the trauma of the poilus in the trenches. The well-known French literary critic Jean Norton Cru believed that those above the rank of captain were not able to describe faithfully the true nature of fighting in the trenches during the war.

The Political, Social and Intellectual Conditions in France in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries

Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815 up until the beginning of World War I in 1914, the European continent was relatively free of a major military conflict. Thus, there was a period of stability and relative peace in Europe during this period. Throughout Europe, the industrial revolution ushered in vast new developments in the areas of technological innovations and mechanization. Very few intellectuals or military observers were able to foresee the impact of technology and mechanization on warfare during the years preceding the First World War. Many observers predicted that a future war in Europe would be characterized by a war of short duration and rapid offensive movements. No one at the time predicted a protracted defensive war or the level of lethality and destructiveness of modern technology applied to military weapons. In France, many intellectuals actually looked forward to a future war as a means to renew a society that they believed had become too stagnant and decadent. Moreover, intellectual sentiments often tended to welcome a future war as a means of proving oneself in what they perceived as an opportunity to demonstrate one's virility in the trial of war. Further, many intellectuals anticipated that a future war would be a great crusade where the individual could achieve individual glory and heroism in battle. At the same time, a frequent theme in intellectual circles in France was a nationalistic attitude, especially with respect to the effort to regain the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine which the Germans had occupied since their victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The French writer and thinker Maurice Barres exerted an important influence on French intellectual attitudes in the pre-war years of the late 19th Century. Barres was born in Lorraine and as a child he had witnessed directly the German occupation of the province. Later, he expressed nationalist sentiments marked by strong ties and bonds to native French lands. Barres also developed strong ties to the religious heritage of France and he warned against the dangers of strict adherence to the doctrines of rationalism. He venerated traditional French sacred areas such as Lourdes and Domremy. His nationalist and religious sentiments had an important impact on French intellectuals in the years leading up to 1914. Nationalist sentiments were further sharpened during the Dreyfus Affair in the 1890s. Captain Alfred Dreyfus was an Alsatian army officer of Jewish descent who was falsely accused of transmitting French military secrets to the Germans. He was subsequently tried and convicted of this offense and sent off to Devil's Island. French intellectuals subsequently were divided into two opposing factions: the anti-Dreyfusards, who accepted the guilt of Dreyfus and defended the integrity of the French Army and the nation, and the Dreyfusards who argued that Dreyfus was innocent of the charges of treason and supported efforts to exonerate him. During the Dreyfus Affair, the anti-Dreyfusards, to include Barres, formed patriotic leagues such as the League of Patriots to support the Army and the French nation. Although Dreyfus was ultimately found innocent and restored to his military status, the sentiments of Barres and other nationalists continued to dominate French thinking into the early years of the 20th Century. Moreover, Barres supported the idea of a heroic war where the individual could prove his manhood in a future war.







The ideas of other Europeans such as Nietzsche and Spengler also contributed to the French intellectual sentiments that society had become too stagnant and that war would be a means to recast and renew society. The work Reflections on Violence written by the French author Georges Sorel in 1903 echoed the sentiment that violence was necessary to reshape society. Sorel was initially a French civil servant would became active in the radical French trade union movements. In Sorel's view, violence and war were preconditions in order to realize social, political and moral changes in society. The revolutionary thought of Sorel represented another deviation from reason, similar to the ideas of Barres that focused on nationalism and religious sentiments.




Ernest Psichari, a grandson of the famous French historian Ernest Renan, represented another prominent French example of the nationalist and religious sentiments of the French intellectuals prior to World War I. At the age of 20, Psichari entered the French Army in 1905 after confronting a personal crisis. Similar to the ideas of the French poet Alfred Vigny earlier in the 19th Century, Psichari found a source of physical, moral and spiritual regeneration in the life of a soldier. Later, in 1913, Psichari converted to Catholicism and henceforth the military life and his religious beliefs would constitute the two most important components of his beliefs. Psichari's devotion and admiration for the life of a soldier practically became a kind of religion for him. He expressed his ideas on the virtues of military life in several books that addressed his military experiences. Psichari's devotion to the army and his nationalistic sentiments added to the nationalistic spirit of many French intellectuals prior to the war. Moreover, he recognized the danger of the growing power of Germany and believed that a war with Germany was very likely in the near future. Psichari also expressed the belief held by other intellectuals that death in a noble war would be the glorious summit of the soldier. Psichari died very early in the war leading French colonial troops in August 1914.


In some respects, the ideas of the poet Charles Peguy echoed the heroic and military sentiments expressed by Psichari. Peguy also condemned the materialism of the time and admired the virtues of military life. Moreover, Peguy sensed that a war with Germany would be inevitable. During the Dreyfus Affair, Peguy was a Dreyfusard who believed in the innocence of the army captain. Later, he became interested in the heroine Jeanne d'Arc and his admiration for this symbol of French nationalism and faith inspired his patriotic and religious engagement. The Tangiers incident revealed to him the danger of the German threat and he henceforth prepared himself for the coming war. Previously aligned with socialism and the French political life, became committed to the causes of adherents of the political right, his former adversaries. Peguy lauded the virtues of individual heroism and sacrifice in war for the nation. As was the case with Psichari, Peguy believed that individual glory in war was a supreme virtue of the soldier. In early September 1914, Peguy, like Psichari, was killed on the battlefield.

Other European intellectuals shared the sentiments of French intellectuals that life had become too comfortable and devoid of meaning. Young intellectuals in Europe criticized the growth of materialism and believed that society had become moribund and in need of renewal. These European intellectuals also expressed a desire to prove oneself heroically in combat. For example, the English poet Rupert Brooke expressed this need for individual heroism in his famous sonnet of 1914 entitled "Peace:"

Now, God be thanked who has matched us with His hour,
And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping.

None of the European intellectuals, including the French, anticipated the true character of modern, industrialized warfare: a war of masses of men and materiel where the individual combatant was nothing more than a number. The conception of individual glory was totally shattered in the enormous war of mass where individual heroics were completely insignificant. The intellectual view that the war would be a great crusade based on chivalric ideals was far from the reality of anonymous trench warfare.


French intellectuals who expressed pacifist ideas prior to the start of the Great War of 1914-1918 represented a minority. The two most prominent pacifists were the writers Romain Rolland and Roger Martin du Gard. Rolland would be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1915; many observers would remark that the literature prized was actually a substitute for the Nobel Peace Prize since Rolland was a fervent critic of the First World War. Rolland believed that the world could be better transformed through peaceful and humane means. Martin du Gard averred that rationalism could surmount the necessity for war. Both Rolland and Martin du Gard were opposed to the heroic enthusiasm for war that many French intellectuals expressed prior to the war. In 1914, Martin du Gard noted that the majority of those in the civilized war had lived for a long time with the idea that war was an outdated phenomenon; they believed that a major war in Europe was impossible. Despite the warnings of Rolland and Martin du Gard, the predominant theme in many European intellectual circles was the need for war to renew and restructure a decadent society. The influence of the Darwinists supported the idea that the destructive effects of war were necessary to purify social structures. The American poet Ezra Pound believed that destruction and violence would be liberating influences. The German painter Max Beckmann stated in 1909 that war would be a force of regeneration and social reunification. Another factor was the growing power of the nation-state that unleashed the forces of nationalist sentiments and militarism. Jean Jaures, the French socialist leader, anticipated with accuracy the destructive nature of a future war in Europe, but his warnings went unheeded. Those who called for war believed that it would be a short one, and they did foresee the destructive nature of industrialized warfare. In his Memoires, a young Army captain, Charles de Gaulle, expressed clearly his concern over the ignorance of many observers of the true nature of modern war. He questioned the attitudes of many young intellectuals who imagined without horror a future war and magnified the unknown adventure in advance. The outbreak of war in August 1914 would shatter nearly all of the preconceived notions of the young intellectuals in the trauma of modern, total war.

Intellectuals under Arms

Patriotic War: Rene Benjamin and Adrien Bertrand

Early in the Great War, intellectuals supported the Great War and emphasized the virtues of patriotism, sacrifice for the nation and the duty of the soldier in defense of the French nation. The early French war novels reflected these patriotic sentiments. Benjamin's novel, Gaspard, appeared in 1915 and won the prestigious Prix Goncourt, an important literary prize. Benjamin was wounded in the war and he wrote his novel while recovering in the hospital. The hero of the novel is an imaginary Parisian, Gaspard, who represents the devotion of the working class to the national war effort. This snail merchant goes to the front and is wounded two times, receiving decorations for bravery in combat. Gaspard embodies the characteristics of the individual soldier: courageous, chivalric and committed to duty. In the novel, Benjamin downplays the barbarism and the violence of the war. The soldiers in the book are able to adapt easily to the perilous nature of modern warfare. For the author, man is supple and he can adjust to any situation, a quality that Benjamin admires. When Gaspard loses a leg, he is able to adjust to his handicap. He is consoled by the fact that he is still alive despite the missing limb. Benjamin's novel appears to be linked to the French government propaganda that calls for national unity and support for the war effort.

Adrien Bertrand, a writer who served in the French cavalry during the war, also won the Goncourt for his war novel, l'Appel du sol. Bertrand was wounded by shrapnel in the lungs and died of his wounds in November 1917. His novel reflects the traditional view of war in the style of Benjamin's Gaspard. Bertrand emphasizes the virtues of duty, discipline, honor and courage. Yet, his vision of war is less optimistic than that of Benjamin. Bertrand stresses the doctrine of stoic acceptance and patriotic abnegation. Moreover, the author does not hesitate to present the cruel and frightful aspects of modern war. He describes the use of heavy artillery against troops that have virtually no protection against the deadly shells. Bertrand believes that the cultural superiority of the French will prevail over the German aggressors. One of the characters in the novel, Quere, an ardent Christian, is disillusioned with the idea of the war as a great crusade. He is fighting only out of patriotism and love of country. Other characters in the book soon begin to question the accepted truths of religion, science and reason. Bertrand accepts the reality of war as a normal part of human life. By the end of the novel, all the principal characters die in combat, and Bertrand accepts stoically the duty of the soldier in war to fight and to sacrifice his life in defense of the nation.


Henri Barbusse wrote one of the two most famous French World War I novels, Le Feu: Journal d'une escouade. His novel was published in 1916 and won the Prix Goncourt for 1916. Barbusse was born in 1873 in Asnieres, France and became interested in journalism in his teens. He was later influenced by the symbolist movement and he produced a number of poems. In 1914, he volunteered to serve in the French Army. His novel Le Feu reflects his experiences in the war at the front, and he exposes the reader to the grim realities of trench warfare. In this sense, he follows the realistic approach in a manner similar to the realistic writings of the novelist Emile Zola. Barbusse's novel breaks with the traditional image of war as a heroic crusade. He does not hesitate to depict the horrors of constant death and the mutilation of the human body caused by the modern destructive weapons. In fact, his book becomes a bitter condemnation of the war and at the end of his novel he calls for a violent revolution to overthrow the governments who he claims are responsible for the conflict. It is interesting to note that Le Feu escaped the French censors who normally would not have allowed the publication of writings that criticized the French government and the war effort. In the novel, Barbusse focuses on a squad of 17 infantry soldiers at the front. Many of these soldiers suffer terrible deaths at the front. The author describes the terrible aspects of war: the destruction of the natural environment, the mud and water in the trenches, the fleas and the rats. In one scene in the book, he refers to soldiers as uprooted civilians, and he describes the plight of one soldier who no longer has any feet. This description alludes to the war's impact on men--they no longer have any roots to human experience. His infantry squad members express anti-militarist and anti-war sentiments. The horrendous conflict also results in the loss of belief in God. Barbusse notes that both sides, French and German, believe that God supports their cause. Moreover, the novel condemns the nationalist sentiments that have, in part, caused the war. Barbusse hoped that the Great War would lead to an international revolution that would eliminate injustice and the oppression of men. Following the war, Barbusse became active in militant communism. He stated that only the international proletariat in a communist society could assure world peace. In contrast to the rather patriotic novels of Benjamin and Bertrand, Barbusse's novel is anti-patriotic, polemical and a sincere condemnation of the war and those who supported it.

In another novel published in 1918, Gabriel-Tristan Franconi proposed a new political consensus to avoid war in Un Tel de l'Armee Francaise. Franconi served at the front in the army and he was killed in combat in July 1918. The anonymous hero of the war is a typical Frenchman, known as a Tel. Franconi seems to be alluding to the heroic qualities of William Tell of the Swiss legend. The character of the Tel seems to confirm the patriotic qualities of the French: the Tel accepts the terrible conditions of war. Yet, Franconi does not hesitate to describe the horrible nature of modern warfare. As opposed to Barbusse, Franconi accepts the necessity of war to defend the French homeland from the German invaders. However, the author does criticize those avant-garde civilians in the rear who condemn French values and institutions. He also advocates a remaking of the political party system in France that would be based on military values and composed of military veterans of the war. This new political system would achieve a new political consensus in France. Franconi also condemned the capitalists and the democratic middle class for profiting from the war. Moreover, the author sees war as a means to regenerate society after the war, and he shares the vision of Barbusse of a society of men that is more just and humane.