SIR JOHN FRENCH
citKAT CAVALRY LEADER HIS FINE RECORD "ABLE T© THINK AT A GALLOP" Field-Marshal Sir John French, who has - been -'appointed. to command the .British forcos~in the'field, is a soldier of tho highest i reputation. "General Ej-pnch, for whom South Africa ha-s' fori once,'-proved' not; the' grave but tlieicradlo -.of: a reputation,". wrote Sir..A. Chilian Doyle in his "Great Boer AVar,". had- beforj the war gained somo nerye as a smart arid, energetic cavalry.officer'. \ There were, some who, watching' liis handling of a copsiderable body 'of horse;:at ..the 'great Salisbury manoeuvres in 1898,.concei\ed the:higli- ' est.opinion of;-.his capacity, and it was', duo/to/the strong. support of General Buller, who Md commanded in these peaceful -operations, that French;, received . .<:W U .appointment for '. South Afnca;-'ln person,'lie is short and thick;'' with a pugnacidus jaw. In character he is ;',a man : of 1 cold persistence and ; of I-fiery energy,; cautious arid yet audacious, : weighing liis actions well, but carrying: them out with the dash which :,befits;a mounted leader. 'He is remarkable for the quickness of his decision—'Can think at -a. gallop/ as an - admirer ' expressed, it.' Such is the man, alert;- resourceful, and determined, to whom was eiitrasted'the' holding back of the Coles-, berg Boers." ■■■: ■ A Naval Career. • Sir John Denton Pmkstone French''is the oldest son of \ Captain French,-R.N.,; and was born at Ripple, Vale,, in Kent, England, in 1852. It was intended'that, he;'di'ould : follow 'the . steps;< of . liis father in a naval career,;; and ; -he;..aCf, cordmgly. - joined; H.M.S.; Britannia,' when; 14-years .of ago, and served as a; naval ? cadet. [ : {and ; ..midslipman ' for four years. • > Plans were changed,: howover; ; and in • 1874 young' French' .entered the Army, joining the Bth,Hussars.' -He was transferred tlienco to the 19th Hussars (the "Pnnce of Wales's Own"), ' in livhicli he served in the , Sudan campaign of 1884-85, .. and: was in ; the actions, '.of Abu Klea', Gubut, and Metemmeh. 'He commanded, his regiment frpm '1889 to 1893- On his- return to England, lie. ivas /employied as' Acting-Adjutant-Gen-:... era! of Cavalry on the Staff in 1893 and 1894. " He was appointed Acting-Adjut-ankGeheral at the headquarters r of, the; Army in.. 1895,. and; served there until 1897: when he 'was appointed brigadier to. command ■ the Sccond Cavalry; gade; l Two years later, he - was* trans-, 'ferred as' temporaryX- major-general; to the First Cavalry Brigade at Alder'shot, and was shortly afterwards appointed major-general to command the Cavalry Division m Natal. In this capacity; he commanded the' troopsi which Won 'the brilliant little action , of Elandslaagto (October 21, 1899). At the battle of' Reitfontem and Lombard's Kop he commanded the., cavalry ■ ; in' Sir, George , White's forces. . , / . ■ ■ Fighting the Boers. v It;was in November,.lß99, that General , French began- his famous Colesb'erg ■operations. V:? f <His task. was' to 1 repel tho Boor force which had invaded ' Capo . Colony from the: Orange Free State, by : way of Point.' and had occupied the town of Colesberg. "With -'a. small but mobile force—tho Berkshire regihicntv of . infantry, "' in,.■ the .'.centre,; mounted \ bodies ■- of • Tasmanians,;New Zeqlanders t Australians; Scots Greys, Inniskilhngs,i-. and- Carabineers .-to-..scour,; the country, and two batteries of' Horse; Artillery to support them—he gradually contracted tho Boor position, drove, them'from kopje to - kopje, and, headed them in Goles~berg..,; The' Boers,-'on December 30; abatidcined their advanced .post at Rensburg. v .French seized, it at once, and having / received reinforcements, began a vigorous and long-sus-tained Eeries of; operations. , Success was-not uninterrupted,' for an attack by the Suffolk Regiment upon onto of the kopjes overlooking Colesberg ended disf. astrouslv. ■ French,.: however, con-, tinued to hem the enemy; inC'V Slingers-; fontem was occupied , on; January.; 9, 1900, and on the' loth Captain Mado'cks,'with his New" Zealimders, and a , company of the Ist Yorkshires, 'repulsed a spirited, Boor attack.;', ■ In the effort to outflank the Boers; General! French extended his 1 little, army,';-sifter receivingfurther .reinforcements, 'to a length;iof J fifty miles. - At; the end of January lie went down.'to Cape Town to'assist Lords Roberts and Kitchener ' in " the plan which; jvas: tp alter the whole,, military, situation 1 ." 'Geheral ..Clements :! carried on. with satisfactory; results, the,Colesberg operations so brilliantly begun by French, .while the latter took command of; the' cavalry,!forces in'the operations i.which culminated in the relief of Kimberlej; s ~ \ ; ' . , A .. Tho March; to Klmberley. f Early in-the;morning of .February-.i1,: with; five'-thtrasand,cavalry and mounted infantry, .French'; set. out "for Ramden, 20 miles 'north-east" of Belmont, on his' splendid march v to .. Kiniberley., He crossed the'Riet River'the same night', eluding-the Boar's and sweeping away,a considerable-.force which had' arrived ten minute's too late to.'resist the. crossing. ■•.On, the next day, in .very .hot; weather, : thirty 'miles.'.of arid , and dustyplain were covered, and Major Ririiington' "siicceeded-i in vthe difficult fesk of guiding the force precisely to Klip Drift, on ■ tli o ;Mo d der River Again French had 'the- satisfaction ,of : finding that he had . been too quick , for the enemy to concentrate .'against hirii.;, The small Boer, force a't tlie Drift saved, itstelf by. flight,;' 'and before dawn the'last of French's' horses and guns had reached, tho. northern bank. A demonstration at Kpodbosdrift, fifty- miles to the -'.westward, ;had Resulted' in an extension' of the' Boar right • wing,;. Croiije. conld; not denude his . Centre .a,t:'Magersforitien, where Methuen'.was; still watching him, and-the left, -with which French was now in contact,, was: ;thinly - dispersed." He' rested a day 'at -Klin Drift,: so ..that. Kelly-Kenny could; dome up ; with . liis, infantry; and. "hold tho pas-sage.- This, the- etiemy time: to assemble a small force-of'horsemen and artillery among : thei' hills pfpur. miles from, t-ne. Drift, on the. way to Kimberloy. French's army tHem, though; not without loss,; and; the ' march to ; the beleaguered city: was - not even retarded. At nightfall, after, a day's inarch of , 40 miles, many of the troopers walked-to ease their horses, and even,, carrying part of the saddle; gear, the ■ relieving column caroped on the plain two miles from Kimtierley, and General , French and his; staff, rode .''into' the city./ Capturing Cronjo., " Next morning .February 16), it. 8 o'cock, -/two of French's brigades attemp'ted to force'the Boer position at Dronfield, and v continued their efforts all .day. Tho s'ame evening, there came (a message-from Lord Roberts; instnict;ing. tho' General to start' again imme-, diately. arid endeavour ' to head '. off) Cronje's army. Instead of; pleading inability', lie set out within a few hours, thongh ; ho could only take 2000 out; of a - column, which h.nl'beon 5000 .strong. survivors had no horses fit, for a, march. They, pushed on all night, tmd.ivere just in time to seize the last drift'(which was open to Cronjc. , This .operation is regarded as one of the, ■finest hits of work done, by French" or any other general during the , wan ,[; enabled Lord Roberts , to siirroivnd Cronje' and forcc 1 hint to make his fateful .'surrender at Paardeberg on February 27. ' The. honour of-that coup is due, after Roberts, to Kitcliener and French. -In the onusing oporations, .which'culminated in the capture of Bloemfontein, General French t.commanded the .cavalry, division of Lord
Roberts's forces, taking' part in tlio Poplar Grove action, in which a strong 'force of Boers was dislodged slid put to flight. Tile troops ontered the Free State's capital oil March 13, just a month after the start from Ramdam. 'Here was a Jiaii of six weeks at Bloenifoiiteinj but during that interval French participated in tho cap'ture.:.of. the Boor position at Karoo, twenty miles ahead, on tho road to Pretoria. French, who had nowvbeeri raised to,the rank of Lieutenant-General, continued to command tho cavalry division during tho 220 : inile march to .Pretoria and-the oporations preceding the capture of that city, which was entered oil- June 5. A fow days later he! commanded the Heft wing of Lord. 'Roberts's forces in ;the battles east of Pretoria, on June. 10 and 12, 1900 and was mentioned in dispatches ' eight times.' ,He commended the forces in the operations culminiiting in tho relief of Barberton, and also the forces in the Eastern Transvaal during the operations in the spring :of 1901, l and the operations against tho rebels in 'Cape Colony .up to the/end of the war. Jri October .1901, ho was appointed to succeed Buller in command of the First Army Corps, 'and in thij.following year' he returned- to England -'to;'take up the duties of; that, position, .which' he. continued to fill until 1907. *. ■ 1 . A Brilliant Career., General French was oreated K.C.B. in 1900, and :K.C.jYL.G. in 190 a.... In the latter, year he received the Cross of. the Red Eagle,of Prussia,, and 'in-the next year ,the; insignia of a' Grand Ofiicor of \the Legion o'f Honour; , In 1901 he accepted the Cross of the Iron Crown of Austria,, was created G.C.V.O. iii The Universities'of; Oxford and Cambridge conferred upon him the d - grees of D..C.L, arid LLIC. respectively: '■Li-1.907 General French was- appointed Inspector-General and he .continued to hold that, position until 1911.';: Frbm •1911 he was Chief of tho Imperial Army Staff, first military member'of' the. Army Council and .General Officer Commanding-in-Chief -First' - .Class,'" He became Field-Marshal in 1913. A few months ago General French, with, other - officers,« resigned liis position at -tho, War Ofpce;in cohsefluonce of the Homei' Rule■•.trouble,i but'lie immediately .resumed active duty on the outbreak of the ; present hostilities. : : '
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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2233, 20 August 1914, Page 6
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1,536SIR JOHN FRENCH Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2233, 20 August 1914, Page 6
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