Lord French.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 April 1921, Page 3

Lord French.

PARIS, A- elj. tlln i o.stlUg irilut.-, oi me lYlletiellei-J-reiicii control ersy oi i-wpu-mner mi-t are lo ms iouiui in tile iiili outicuon to me i- lyiien eduion oi ftir ueorge Ai - mors "i,lie in laud Kitchener, milieu i,y ex-rresKient j'oincaire, wtm-.li Mill .siiortiy tie piioiisiied.- jit- refers t-. toe clioris made uy i,ord ivitclienei, •darslial dome, and himself lo prevent, j.ord rrencli, then Loninuinder-in-Chiei oi Lite British Kxpeditionary force, iruiii. as iu- says, retiring bodily to a. ime behind Pans, alter the great retreat ol September iDI4. had that movement been accomplished, in all probability the Germans would not nave been deleate-d at the Marne. “Lord French,” says Al. I’oincaire, “manoeuvred in an excessively independent fashion, and sought Lo maintain liis forces intact. On Sunday, August 30th, apprehensive lest Lord French’s Army should be isolated, Joffre telephoned to M .Millerand, then Minister lor War, that he ihought that the British were not disposed to light at that moment. They were retiring in the . direction of Aleaux, where they seemed

to be making a turning movement over tlio Seine, out of Baris. “On the night of August 3L-Septem-ber l, Lord Kitchener, himself anxious at the turn of affairs, suddenly decided lo come to Bail's. In the “Life of Kitchener,” adds M. Poincaire, “are the telegrams, exchanged between Lord. French and the British War Minister. The replies of Lord French were not only as negative as those received by General Joffre and myself, but they made the mistake of attributing to tin- French Higlu-r Command the de-

sire not to engage with the enemy, which was contrary to their expressed intentions. The misunderstanding was very serious, and if it was dissipated in time it was largely due to Lord Kitchener.

“On 'Tuesday, September 1, Lord Kitchener arrived in Baris and saw M. Millerand and Lord French. “ It was not without some difficulty that agreement was reached. Lord French began hv saying that he was willing to entrench around Aleaux. He insisted that his line of communication should lie adequately safeguarded, and that Joffre- should send a, force to cover the Seine between Baris and Havre. Joffre replied that he could not change the disposition of his troops to such an extent. When the offensive was actually decided upon, Lord French’s Army fought wan the greatest gallantry, and its efforts were, to a large extent responsible for the great victory. But without the intervention of Lord Kitchener it might have been that there would not have been any effective co-operation, and so the. battle of the Marne might have been lost.