The Dominion WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1918. MARSHAL FOCH

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 279, 14 August 1918, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 1918. MARSHAL FOCH

Marshal Foch stands at tho present moment on the highest pinnacle of responsibility. The fate of mankind is trembling in the' balance, and the civilised world hopes and believes that, he is the man who is" destined to turn the scalc decisively in favour_of justice and freedom. There are indications that one of those supremely critical points in human history has now been reached, when the futuro of the nations depends upon th« brain and character, the insight and foresight, of one human being. Responsibility so tremendous would paralyse most men. But Marshal Foch is not afraid of responsibility; and haying confidence in himself he inspires confidence in others. Before tho war broke out the present Generalissimo of the Allied armies gave lessons on the art of war in tho Higher Military School in Paris. The lectures which he then delivered are full of penetrating thought and make it plain that he has deeply studied the psychology as well as the art of war. A_fino description of his military philosophy is given by Mr. Charles Whidley in the June nuin"ber of Blackwood's Magazine. No general could value the work and responsibility of the ordinary soldier moro highly than Marshal Foch does. He., realises how much depends upon the courage, intelligence, endurance of tho rank and file, but he insists with strong emphasis upon the need of force, of soul in tho commander. "No victory is jiossible," ho says, "without a vigorous command, greedy of responsibilities and ready for bold enterprise?, possessing and inspiring in all the energy and re solution to go to the very end, with, out personal action rendered in. good will, without judgment, without freedom of spirit (in the midst of clanger)—gifts natural in the highly endowed irn.ii, in the general born, advantages acquired by work and reflection in the ordinary man." Even if Marshal Foch is as "greedy of responsibilities" as his ideal com maudcr, he probably has more than 'enough to satisfy him at the present moment. ,

'In the opinion of Marshal Foch victory depends largely upon ability to demoralise the enemy, and one of the surest ways of doing this is to take him by surprise. The Generalissimo, who is a student of history, quotes with approval the statement of Xenophon. that in war "surprise strikes with terror even those who arc by far tho stronger"—strikes them with that cold terror which descends upon the stoutest heart, freezes it, and persuades it that it is vanquished. Surprise is also fatal to an enemy because it robs him of the possibility of reflection and discussion. At tho two most vital points of thfe present war on the West front Marshal Foch has successfully divined the enemy's weakest spot and struck it with a strength and suddenness that proved irresistible. Surprise may take many shapes. It may take the form of a new weapon, or the sudden and unforeseen appearance of a strong force in an unexpected quarter, or a concentration of forces upon a point at wnich the adversary is not ready instantaneously to parry tho blow. But whatever method may he employed, the aim is always the same: to demoralise tho enemy by terrifying him, by' creating the sentiment of impotence—the conviction that he cannot conquer. This finding of the weak spot and smashing into it seems to be, in Marshal Foch's opinion, the surest way to victory. In this he is a disciple of Napoleon. who said "it sufticeth for victory to be stronger at a given point at a given moment." Marshal Foch cle-' scribes a battle as "a manoeuvre which aims at the action, intentional, resolute, sudden, and energetic of masses of troops upon a chosen point." Ho ha? put these ideas into practice during the war with remarkable success. He waited with watchful patience until the enemy was off his guard, and .when the psychological moment arrived he struck with terrific power and lightning speed. Tlje present precipitate retreat of the Germans is a convincing proof of the marvellous skill with which the Generalissimo is handling the Allied armies. Tho inspiration of his leadership and his wonderful mental alertness have maintained the moral of his troops at the highest'point oven when the enemy's offensive seemed almost irresistible, and his influence has gripped his troops so completely that he is now in command of an army which "feels itself carried forward as though it were gliding on an inclined plane."

Marshal Foch asserts that it is tho duty of a Generalissimo to make and keep his amy confident _ of its power . to ■win. A military leader to bo successful must be able to inspire as hvcll as command. In support of this assertion he quotes Napoleon's saying that "it was not the Roman legions which conquered Gaul, but Caesar; it was not the Carthagenian soldiers who mado Romo tremble, but Hanniiul; it was not the Macedonian phalanx which penetrated India, but Alexander." But Marshal Foch does not forget the other side of the picture. He recognises that history awards the blame of defeat as well as the praise of victory to the generals. And yet no general can succeed unless he has the support of a well-trained, wellequipped, and well-disciplined army. There is nothing narrow or degrading about Marshal Foch's conception of discipline. Ho docs not demand from his subordinates more slavish obedicnce. Ho asks for

their willing and intelligent co-oper-ation. They arc partners with him in a great enterprise. When they become soldiers they do not cease to be men. Tho German system of blind, unthinking obedience is repulsive to him. He believes in intellectual discipline, and this can only bo obtained by treating the rank and file as human beings, not mere machines. _ Subordinates should, he holds, be given liberty of action, and should know the end aimed at by their superior. In ibis way discipMne becomes intelligent and active, and gives scope for the exercise of initiative. Obedience thus becomes a living thing. A disciplined soldier enters frankly into the thought and into the views of the chief who has given the order, and takes all' the steps humanly practicablo to give his chief satisfaction. Discipline is not _ mechanical movement, but activity of mind. Every officer and man should be permitted and encouraged to put thought and character into his work, but "the Generalissimo alone creates the art, tho strategy, in the complete sense of the word; all the others create tho tactics, the prose. He alone is the composer and the chief of the orchestra, in which all the othersplay but a part." These words were uttered years ago. In those days did Marshal Focirever dream that the time would come when, as Genoralissimo of the greatest army that tho world has ever seen, ho would have an opportunity of putting his theories into practice 1 Did he ever imagine that he would live to sec tho day when the future of the world would largely depend upon the soundness of the'instruction he was giving in tho Higher Military School ? It is not at all probable that he has "been able during the prosent war to translate rigidly and /iterally his words into actions, but as far as one can judge he has expressed their spirit in his leadership. No one knows better than Marshal Focii how to fight a defensive battle, but no one could insist more strongly than he has done that it is an offensive, whether it is immediate or whether it succeeds a defensive battle, which alone can give useful' results, and therefore every defensive battle must terminate with an offensive action, or there will be no result. Victory is a question of moral. An army is defeated when it no longer believes in victory because it is demoralised, and has reached the end of its moral'resistance. In Marshal Foch the Allied armies have a great leader, and they are fighting for a righteous cause. Their moral has never b'een shaken. The material forces of the Allies aro at least as great as those of the enemy, and are increasing every' day. Their moral and spiritual forces, which count for more than material things, are immeasurably greater. The enemy is already beginning to see that he cannot conquer, and when he fully realises this j then ho is conquered. I