NIUE (SAVAGE ISLAND) : see PACIFIC ISLANDS. NIVELLE, ROBERT GEORGE ( 6 24) , French sol dier, was born on Oct. 15, 1856, at Tulle, Correze. He entered the Polytechnic in 1876, and left two years later to join the artil lery. He served in China in 1900, and then for many years in Algeria. When the World War broke out he was in command of the 5th Artillery at Besancon.
Appointed a general of brigade on Oct. 24, 1914, he fought successfully on the Aisne, and in Jan. 1915 took a prominent part in the attack on Quesnevieres. On Dec. 23, 1915, he was placed at the head of the III. Corps, and in March 1916 was sent to Verdun, where after some remarkable fighting he suc ceeded in checking the Crown Prince's first attack. On May 2 he succeeded General Petain in the command of the II. Army, and definitely held the enemy before that glorious citadel. It was he who, in orders which have become famous, made the unfor gettable declaration: "Ils ne passeront pas." On March 12, 1916, he succeeded General Joffre as commander-in-chief of the armies of the north and north-east. In conjunction with the British armies he prepared the great offensive of April 16 between Sois sons and Auberive. After this semi-defeat he was replaced by General Petain in the command of the French armies. On May 15, 1917, he was appointed commander of the armies "charge de mission," and on Dec. 23, 1917, took over the French troops in North Africa.
On Oct. 14, 1918, General Nivelle was confirmed in his com mand despite the rules of superannuation, and on Jan. 3o, 1920, was nominated a member of the Supreme War Council. On March 5, 1920, he gave up the command of the XIX. Corps, and in Nov. 1920 he was ordered to represent France in the United States at the tercentenary of the arrival of the "Mayflower." He was placed on the retired list on Oct. I 1, 1921 ; he died on March 23, (M. Gu.) NIVELLES (Flem. Nyvel), town, province of Brabant, Bel gium, on the Thines 19 m. south of Brussels. Pop. (1934) 12,703 It manufactures parchment, cardboard and paper. The town is supposed to owe its origin to the foundation of a convent by Itta or Iduberge, wife of Pippin of Landen, and it is the cradle of the Carlovingians. The Romanesque church of St. Gertrude, named after Itta's daughter, dates from the iith century. On the top of the tower is the effigy of a man in iron who strikes the hours with a hammer. He is called by the townspeople Jean de Nivelles, a celebrated baron of the 15th century whose title eventually became merged in that of the count de Hornes (Horn). Close to Nivelles is Seneffe, where Conde defeated William of Orange in 1674. At Nivelles the French under Marceau defeated the Austrians in 1794