This article is about the 1917 battle. For other battles of the Aisne see Battle of the Aisne. |casualties2=163,000 casualties|}} The Second Battle of the Aisne (also sometimes called the Third Battle of Champagne), in 1917 was the main action of the French Nivelle Offensive during World War I. It ended in disaster for both the French army and its commander Robert Nivelle, destroying his career and sparking widespread mutiny in the army. Nivelle instigated the plan in December 1916 after he replaced Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief of the French army.