The moment Philippe Pétain began procuring weapons from across the Atlantic, the balance of power within fractured France began to shift in his favor. His soldiers were well-armed, adequately trained, and prepared to defend what remained under his control.
Though Pétain's regime acquired American small arms, France's military doctrine remained woefully outdated. Few armored cars or early tank models had survived the Great War, and even fewer were still operable in 1919—three years into the civil war.
Stagnant trench warfare had returned as the norm, with only the faintest signs of modern stormtrooper tactics beginning to develop in the labyrinthine battlefields. In the vacuum left by the Republic's collapse, various warlords had risen. Among them, two figures stood dominant in the east: Charles de Gaulle and Philippe Pétain.
