GENERAL FOCK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 302, 31 May 1915, Page 2

GENERAL FOCK.

THE MAN OF YFRES. In a recent despatch Sir John French mentions General Foch as one of those whose valuables help and support lie has "once more gratefully to acknowledge." One n 1 iii(. have been pardoned for expecting from a general of France that his uniform would he more splendid, his horse finer, and his sword longer than tlio.so of anyone else in the army. '"During the last few months (says the Paris correspondent of The Times) T hrvTe met many French generals along the front. They nre the simplest soldiers of the army; I have never seen them on horse-; hack, and limy seldom wear a swdrd. When their cap is coverrd with the ser-S vice blue it would be easy to inagin®, that they were elderly, if willing, citizens, who have obtained some post in' this ambulance service which enabled j them to wear the led trousers and the tunic of the army withoitt, arousing too much enquiry as to their right to appear as combatants. Three dull steel star* on the unembroidcred slcere of thoir tunics alone denote their rank. In spite of censors, in spite of tho self-efiVcemont which generals hara obserred, partly from natural habits of moiVniy, partly from political prudence, one or two of the generals who are winning the battles of the Allies are acquiring reputations which extend beyond the ranks of the army. Foremost among these men is General Foch, the commander of the armies of tht *orth. Wh»4 Ernst Latiss* hai dow f»r firilian New France in his direction of the "Lcole Xormale," General Foch has done iu a large measure for the officers of I Kaw Fr/ifice by his teaching of strategy ' *nd tactics at the Ecole de Guerre. Although his stay at the school wai only j for a period of five years, lie left his mark upon the whole teaching of general tactics. AT lIEADQUATEUS. I had the honour of being receired recently by General Foch at his headquarters in the north of France—a house built for very different purposes many years ago, when Flemish civil architecture was in its flower. The quiet atmosphere of Flemish ease and burgomaster comfort has completely vanquished. The building hums with activity, as does the whole town. A fleet of motor-cars is ready for instant action. Officers and orderlies hurry constantly to and fro. There is an occasional British uniform, a naval airman's armoured car, and, above all the noise of this bustle, though in a lower tone, the sound of guns in the direction of Ypres. The direct&r of all this activity is Genera! Foch. There in the north iie la putting his theories of war to the test with as much success as he did at the outbreak of hostilities in Lorraine, and later in the centre during the battle of tho Marne. Although bom with the brain of n mathematician, General Foch's ideas upon the war are by no means purely scientific. He refuses, indeed, to regard war, and more especially modern war, 1 as an exact science. The developments of science have, indeed, but increased the mental and moral effort required of each participant, and it is only in Hie passions nroused in each man by the conliict of conception of life that the combatant finds the strength of will to withstand the horrors of modern warfare. TIIE TRIUMPH OF OBSTINACY. Geiier.il hoch is a philosopher as well as a tighter. He is one ol tins rare philosophers who have proved the accuracy of their ideas in the lire of battle. A typical instance of this iu given by ".Miles" in a recent number of the C'orrespondant. During the battle of tho Marne the Germans made repeated efforts to cut through the centre where General Foch commanded between Sezanne and Mailly. On three consecutive days General Foch was forced to retire. Every morning he resumed the offensive, with the result that his obstinacy won the day. lie was able to Profit by a false step bv the enemy to take him in the flank and defeat him. General Foch's whole life and teaching were proved true in those days. He has resolved the art of war into'three fundamental ideas—preparation, the formation of a mass, and the multiplication of this mass in its use. In order to d"rive the full benefit of the mass created it is necessary to have freedom of action, and that is only obtained by intellectual discipline. General Foch has written:—• "Discipline for a leader does not mean the execution of orders received insofar as they seem suitable, jint, reasonable, or even possible. It means that you have entirely grasped the ideas ot the leader who lias given the order, and that, you take every possible means ol .satisfying him. Discipline does not mean silence, abstention, only doin" what, appears to you possible without compromising yourself; it is not tho practice of the art of avoiding responsibilities. On the contrary, it is action m the sense of orders received." I'iiteen years ago at the Kcoio do Guerre General Foch was i'oml. of quoting .Joseph do Maistre's remark, "A battle lost is a battle which one believes to have lost, for battles are .not lost materially"; and of adding, "Battles are! therefore lost morally, and it is theretore morally that they are won." The aphorism can be extended by this one; A battle won is a battle in which one v.'ilj not admit oneself vanquished." As ".Miles" remarks, "He did as he had said." i 'KIISONA L' Tlt A ITS. "ears his (!-! yenrs with ease and grace.! His grey-blue eyes give a singularly' •striking impression of a man whose life has been de\otcd to translatim; philosophy into terms of the casualty list. His speech betrays the mathematiciitn. It is precise m! ,i logical. Its rapidity betrays (hi' men of action. Such is the man who lias controlled the two armies "'"i'i have been lighting with our troops for the preservation of the last strip of five llelgimn, for the protection ol Calais and the Kuglish Channel. He is V. :I! ti({-■(! for ,'hc task, since he a friend 01 Sir doiiu French. As hc ;i( l of a French Military .Mission which followed our army n-im:eu\ res three years en,, |„, to know and appreciate' (he qua toe l»rit;sh Army. As General in coril"liii'd of the :'!i||, ,\rmv at Xancy he had frequently received the visit of I,l'itislt Stall officers. He is confident of victory, and his troop* share his confidence.