LOUD KITCHENER

Hokitika Guardian, 16 April 1921, Page 4

LOUD KITCHENER

FRENCH TRIBUTES

CORRECT VISION OF THE SCALE *. OF THE WAR .

To a French edition of Sir George Arthur’s’ “Life” ; of Lord Kitchener there are prefixed new prefaces by Marshal Joft're and M. Poincare, the former President of the French Republic, that of Marshal’ Joffre is short, Hke everythin'" lte says or writes, but enthusiastic. He mentions ' two partioulai points to Kitchener’s honour. One is t hat “at a grave moment, on the eve of‘the Rattle of the Marne, when it seemed ds ! if the British" Army was to „iv e way under pressure of numbeis I Kitchener felt that at all costs it must i remain where it was' and light by oui ! side.” The other is that by his uni hurrying but unresting' determination , to* make a big and a, good thing of our ! New Army he saved France at <-■ i dun: ' “He trusted France lie knew : that our resistance would give um I time to range new forces beside us. I And so he was able, at the decisive I (incut of Verdun, to send in the nick ! of°time the British divisions which rc- ! liev cd ours on the north of the Oise and | so allowed us to reinforce our defence | of Verdun.” ' M Poincare writes with ecpial warmth in Kitchener’s praise and gives 1 some new details of the early crisis m ' 1 which Kitchener crossed to France to I stiffen the resolution of Sir John ! French. M. Poincare explains hist ! that after the “unfortunate frontier battle” (Mons-Charleroi-Namur) Joffre was keen on keeping in touch with the enemy’s pace of advance, and always keeping ready to turn and rend him at the first likely moment. With this view “Joffre desired the British Army to hold its ground abreast of the French and not retreat too fast. But Marshal French made his movements with excessive independence, seeking above everything to keep his divisions intact. On Sunday, August 30th, General Joffre alarmed at seeing how much French was isolating himself, telephoned to M. Millerand, our Minister for War, that ho really feared the British were for the moment no longer disposed to fight. They were retiring on Meaux, where it looked as though they wished to gain the lower Seine by going round Paris oil the south, the instinctive movement of an island people, with its impulse to get near the sea, which it knows. Next day, Monday, our Comma nder-iii-Chief sent me a staff officer to beg me to ’intervene jn such a way that Field Marshal French might not go on retreating too fast, hut make up his mind to hold up the enemy on the British front. By arrangement with M Millerand I sent for the British Ambassador, Sir F. Bertie, (M. Poincare was President at the time)... I laid before him the misgivings o! Joflre. and iiis request, and lie promised to telephone'promptly to French. Towards 10 ]>.m. Sir Francis returned to the Ely see. He brought me an officer hearing a witten reply f rom the ifritish ( o'li-maiidcr-in-Ciiief unhappily an inconclusive one. French dwelt on bis army’s heavy losses in men and material. Since leaving Moms, he said, it had been constantly in action, and it needed a good week to reorganise and become a real combatant unit again.” Meanwhile Joffre had been trying by direct appeal to French, to restore combined action, and Kitdiener in Loudon, sharing Juffre's fears, was mv ranging instantly to conn to France. “The reply that he (Joffre) had get from Field-Marshal French was n inciily as negative as iff-se given to us. H also wrongly attributed to the French command, contrary to its declared intentions, a wish to renounce an early resumption of the offensive. The misunderstanding was then, very sot ions. That it was removed we owe, for the most part, to lord Kitchener.” Kitchener reached Paris on September I, and immediately siw the British Ambassador, Millerand, and French His firmness prevailed. M. Poinc-aire adds a note to Kitchener's terse summary there given: “The final agree- | nient was not reached without difficulty.’ French, he says, at first made a stand, even in the region of Meaux, conditional on Joffre’s detaching troops to guard the Seine between Paris and Havre. Joffre replied that he was very sorry but lie could not thus weaken his front, and that lie meant to pivot on Paris and promptly resume the offensive. According to M. Poineairc—as also according to General Galieniit was only on the very eve of the battle of the Marne that complete joint action was achieved. Once in, French co-operated loyally, “his army fought with magnificent valour, and England took a brilliant part in the joint victory. But, without tlio repeated action of Lord Kitchener, the co-ordination of effort between the two commands would perhaps, have not been established, and the battle would have been in danger of being lost.” j

AI. Poineairc pays respeciful tribute to Kitchener’s provision of the sc-alc of the war and of the exertions necessary to win it. Joffre, Foch, the President and Kitchener met at Dunkirk on November 1, 1914, when the first Battle of Ypres was beginning, arid they all discussed thoroughly the prospect of early reinforcements from England. We (the Frenchmen) were naturally eager to see fresh troops come over as soon ns possible to help in t.he defence of French soil, and some of us. to tell the truth, find some difficulty in understand ing why Kitchener put us off till the summer of 1915, and why from that j time on, the British set up on the i-oast military establishments calculated for a period of three years. But Kitchener explained to us with great force and clearness, on the one hand, all the reasons there were for nntieparing a war of several years, and, on die other, all the obstacles which must inevitably delay for at least six months the preparation of a great- British army. One fell in him a dee]) and reasoned conviction upon which an opponent could not easily get a hold. Those of us who talked with him then, and who perhaps imagined at tile time that this stubborn advocacy of a very lengthy programme betrayed a little contraiety or pessimism, have, since had to recognise H from the beginning of the war. Kit-

chener, had on the contrary, a very correct vision of the future.”