Brigadier General Robert Doughty retired in July 2005 after 40 years of service in the U.S. Army. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1965 and received his PhD from Kansas University in 1979. He served in a variety of assignments in the United States, Europe, and Vietnam, and his awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, and Combat Infantry Badge. He served as the Head of the Department of History at the U.S. Military Academy from 1985 until 2005.

Doughty makes a point that rarely in military history has a commander or an army made so many mistakes and escaped defeat than in the case of the French and General Joffre prior to and during the opening months of World War I. Doughty highlights the numerous mistakes made by the French military command in planning for the war and by General Joffre in analyzing and confronting the German threat during the first months of the war.

Presented November 7, 2014 as part of the National World War I Museum and United States World War I Centennial Commission 2014 Symposium, "1914: Global War & American Neutrality."

The Symposium was held in association with The Western Front Association East Coast Branch and the World War I Historical Association. Sponsored by Colonel J's, the Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund and Verlag Militaria.

For more information about the National WWI Museum and Memorial visit http://theworldwar.org