AS I KNEW JOFFRE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 14, 19 February 1915, Page 1 (Supplement)

AS I KNEW JOFFRE.

A FRENCHMAN'S STUDY OF THE GREAT GENERAL.

BY ONE OF HIS FORMER MILITARY SECRETARIES.

To understand General Joffre it is essential to bear in mind that he is the very essence of reticence. We most of us give expression to our ideas or thoughts either in conversation or in writing. Not so Joffre. On the contrary, ho is a man who concentrates and centralises in himself his ideas and his impressions instead of expressing them to those around him, and thus scattering his views for the common knowledge. General Joffre was born away in the Pyrenees district, in th e extreme south, west of France, under the shadow of the Canigou Mountain, and he is deso?nded from the hard-headed, "rough-and-ready"' race of Catalonian peasants who have lived for ages along the Mediterranean hinterland on both the French and Spanish sides of th 0 mountains. These people, who in eanh family can trace their descent from father to son for a score of generations, have much of the mountaineer in their character; their speech is rude and brief. We all remember how, being umpire at the grand army manoeuvres in the autumn of 1913, he tipped np one of the two army commanders. General Faurie, bringing about the early retirement of that ollicer from active service and, in his report, so severely handled another of the operating generals as to cause him to resign in anger. Joffre s notion was that every general in command of an army corps must be continually "tuned up to concert pitch." and—to the scandal of the politicians—he set about turning out of the " military orchestra," so far as was allowed, -all those generals who did not sufficiently respond to his tuning fork. MAN WITHOUT NERVES.

So, in the present war. he has, with a few exceptions, removed the staff of army commanders whom he found at the "head of army corps when he took over the supreme command, and has replaced them by men of his own selection, men who have been tried in the Joffre cares not a pin for military imputations and only considers results actually achieved. His. choice of generate to command armies is quite eclectic, as instance his successful selection of General de Castlenau, a staunch Royalist, and of General Serail, who belongs to a Radical family. Another characteristic or General joifre is his entire lack of enthusiasm; indeed it would seem that he is a nerveless man. At certain poignant moments our hearts beat faster, the blood rusies to our heads, but Joffre is silent m presence of the greatest horrors. It is 6tated that during the Retreat from 'tons a staff officer arrived at General Joftre's headquarters with a very urgent written despatch after the t-om-mander-in-Chief had retired for the night at his usual early hour. The statt officer said a whole divis on was in dancer of being surrounded, and insisted strongly that the general should be aroused, but tho answer was that under no circumstances could he be di»turbed before 5 a.m., that, moreover there was no occasion to do as. in agreement with tho General Staff, ail necessary instructions had been piepared fo the night in envelopes maTk«ll. 2 and 3 Consequently, the staff officers on duty opened the despatch sefected envelope >o. 2 which met lie case jnd at oiico telephoned and telegraphed instructions to the commander, who had sent h : s despatch by motor jnstead of telephoning it, and all uent ™Next morning, when Joffre heard what had happened. he 'jJ i commander for losing half ai . , sending the despatch by motor instead of putting it on tho uire. I So far. the apparent and elf tion of Joffre has only revealed itself in tli batUe of the aMrne when he clever'v drew the Germans from tky main o'b : ectivo and inflicted a signal defeat onthem, which, it is believed, entirely dislocated the enemy s planl o lSa.gr and saved France from ter. The result was to giu- the Ire an unalterable confidence * All the rest of the work-tl o P ng out of the entire campaign that has tol out or uw. t tho bus mess of the French General Staff than of Joffre bunacting on the advice of the It must be borne in imnd hat thire SSm-'-lirl"'.,-., tan I ''''' , - I '* " P , , ' ,i;,i .to through that d.sa» by hose «' lO " 11 •- , (• as trous <.ampaign s uch o nut nnce massedand' who "moreover. disdained popularity. French home Hitherto tho tre ! ;,° full advantage •■>',lo ™ llU "- r " ™,c nflWrs of tlxmany bug M a " led by fV ."V-ito M '.laurcsjuul tho upper band, tm 1 l«Hf • • 1/Jimi tho prol>nl>ilThey refused to < ■ 110f ity of war oi to \.. t ;I nillery n!:« >y ("',rraV fta* bw il» tarv direction that ex cienarnl „ot even excepting the Gtrni..,iv I Staff. .