A MASTER STRATEGIST.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 November 1918, Page 2

A MASTER STRATEGIST.

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r•' f ; !'• [ ; . !"'-•—:& ' '■ ! ■GoaeKil "■ I?ocli ia - tic >. greatest > general; tbo war hiia produced. lln ihn.q intui-tion-sad tho power of divination. He is .great- ia ihia iEsfcaat grasp of a zitxui■iiou, ihis perception ;oi the need 3, Ms vision of the next lioux. General Jofl're is Ms v/arraest admirer.

He 13 not tall, fivo foot- six; 'inclies in height, but you do not see first in his eye. Ho has a large, well-shaped head, rather thin, iron-grey hair,.a broad, high forehead. His grey eyes, set wide apart, bore through you and burn you up and smile on you, all at the same time. His noso is large, his mouth wide and straight, and his fiercely benevolent iron-grey moustache first comes dowa over the corners of hia mouth and then pointe straight tip at his eyes. His chin is massive from any point of view. General Foch, like General Joffro, | cornea from the Pyrenees. He is gallant, picturesque, and picaresque, extraordinary, fascinating—'H'Artagnan and Turenne. . ,

THE KAISER. KIND? i "Foch is the liaiser kind," an . officer' said in Parto. "Ho believes that a battle cannot be won without sacrificing men." A member of General IFoc'u's stall replied:— "Sacrificing Germans. General Foch does not sacrifice hia own man- I wiil tell you a story;

"In another sector, during a battle not long ago, the colonel of a certain' regiment that was supposed to advance in conformation v/itii the general plan telephoned to the regiments on his right and left and found that they had not advanced because the wire entanglements in front of than had not been cut So this colonel remained in hia trenches. A little later tho brigade commander telephoned to know if the colonel had advanced. lie explained why he had not—because tlio ' regiments on either sido of him couid not move, and if he went forward he would bo in the air and unsupported. Tfon must goi forward,' Said the general. 'lt ia orders,' Tho colonel telephoned again to the regiments beside him, arid remained In his trenches. Once more the -brigade commander ordered him forward.

" 'lt is orders,' the general aaid again.

"A third time the colonel was ordered forward, and he had to take his men out of the trenches- He took them to .the crest of the hill in front of them, [ where they waited all day for tlbe others to ioin them, and at nightfall retired to their trenches- Although this was accomplished so skilfully that there was but a single casualty—one corporal wounded, whoui the colonel, himself, carried track to the trenches on his shoulders—a great risk had been, iun for a wasted movement.

FOCH 'WOULD HAVE KNOWN. ''Such a performance would be inconceivable under General Foch. He would have known whether the was cut in front of -ill the regiments, and tho orders for that regiment to advance would never have 'been given unless the others could have supported It. General loch makes war a- formidable thing for the enemy, but hia men know tfiafc he neve? sacrifices them needlessly," 'ls it true," the office? was asked, "that in' a battle he always goes on the field himself?"

"It is ridiculous," replied tho officer, "to think that General Foch would be so unconscientious aa to go to a loophole in tho first-line trendies 'just to see 50 vards of Germane."

During a battle Genera! Fce'i is to be found ia the big room at his -headquarters. He stands before ono of those large r,cale maps with a pencil in hi,i n;'jid ind the- telephone -feeeiver af his ear. Ilia staff stands 1n a semicircle behind him. There is perfect silence, ar.d the only movement is of the general's pencil on the map a3 he follows the battle and ponders the detail of the [V'.strict where the fighting is in progress. He has two gestures. One ia ipersistent and constant. It is tho hand rising to the end of hia grey moustache, not to fondle it, but to tug at it slowly and strongly. The other is seea when the door opens softly and aa officer enters on tiptoe. "Where have yc.a j&eaf lite general aitks abruptly.

When he is answered one hand raises his pencil to the point on the map, and the other makes a quick, backward, underhand sweep, close to his body and high up, aj though he were impatiently brushing a speck from his tunic under his arm.

The officer backs into the" semi-circle, and awaits tfte next demand.

"What did you -.see?" And again, when he 'replied, he is brushed back to await a new order. . OCH APOCRYPHA. There arc many apochryphal stories of General Foch floating around the Paris cafes, as, for example, the two (Jliat I have given, that he is the "Kaiser kind," and that "he always goes on the field of (battle" ins-tead of being where he belongs; -but this is a true picture of General Foch during a battle as he is

seen by the members of his staff. The placing of Foch's army in the centre of our line, tind of ManouTy's army near Paris v/ero two masterptrck|e3 of funeral Joffirai admirably carried out by his subordinates—two strokes in \vhicii oui" whole victory on tho Maine was already implied. But, though the right of this army gave way, tlhe general in command of it, Foch, did not give way an instant. Energy, tenacity, resistance are lii 3 conspicuous qualities. Victory is above all things a question of will; and it'was by sheer force of will that victory was destined to be wrested from the enemy's hands. Tho general communicated his confidence to all around him. The word of command was to hold on; to fiiold on whatever happened and at whatever price. And this was not enough. He achieved far more; he attacked. He accomplished a tour de force, almost a miracle; witti an army three-fourths defeated he passed to the offensive. A general who had been placed under Foch's command came to report that his men were tii'ed out: his troops wer&.at the end of their tet'wr. The rebuff was' sharp: "tired out!*'' replied the general.| '"So are twe Germans. You :u6 to .at- ] tack."

livery frontal attack which ■ th» German* had attempted had completely.failed. They were gravely menaced on their flank, their troops were totally exhausted, their munitions at an end. This w as the sit nation tv'.iieli faced the German general staff. Tliey recognised that |« j,;-» oa was to run'the risk of a complete uer. The Kaiser in person signed with u'.: '>*■» tl>e memorable

|teder*tosTC treat. lYance^aiidWteviupi-) [to! j®eiG..-/savcdi. ; Xo-<this brilliant eHd»G<seral:®>diSli«d <]aigely contributed. General Joffre recognised tihe fact a few days later, in itho congratulations which his ordre du [ jour offered to Kris 'brilliant 'collaborator.

Three wceta passed. Tho Germans, [having failed to take Paris or -destroy ;.the French, army,- now; tried to outflank jus on their right, 'flic violence of that •battlo and tho fury of the German assault can never be described. The Kaiser after failing to take Paris, must have his revenge, and tho revenge must bo dazzling. Ho decided that at any cost Calais must bo his. Now was the moment when all Germany abandoned itself' to a hatred for England that amounted to frenzy. Lissauer had just •composed, in hatred of England, that amazing and monstrous song, destined surely to remain in human history as a typical example of the degree of aberration and criminal folly to which a selfinfatuated people can attain. Those v'io ruled the counsels of Germany were convinced that if Calais cotild bo reached their strength in submarinesi would enable them to establish a close blockade against England, isolate her, and hold her at their mercy. T'iie Kaiser, wishing to inflame the fury of superhuman effort of courage and energy, came in person to tako part in tho attack, which die believed would prove decisive. He established himself at Roulers; he passed his troops in review, and exalted their enthusiasm. The Germans, who desired to break through at whatever cost, attacked in. great masess, as though witlh. the stroko of a club. On one day they threw no less than seven divisions, one upon the other, against the .French and English lines. The Englisto, left to themselves, must !iave bent before this terrific onslaught. It was absolutely neeesasiy to support them. Some of our best army corps were abruptly taken from certain parts of our 1 rout, cent in sapid succession by rail, and tlirown upon the Yse.?. It was a human dyke raised to stay; tho German inundation.

_'£hesa strategic movements, far superior in scale to anything imagined before the present war, were carried out witli great rapidity and perfect order. Yet one need only cast an eye on the map to realise that this concentration of forces upon the Yser inrolved far greater difficulties on our side than on the enemy's.. The front from the North Sea to ilia Vosges makes almost a right angle, running north and couth to Compiegno, and "afterward east and west, The Germans are within ■ the angle; wo outside it. It follows that [they are more readily able than ourselves to send rapid reinforcements to one or other of tieir wings. Foeh, who directed his array in tha centre of the general line, had ieen transferred to our left wing and given a far more important command. All our armies of the north were placed at his orders. He had, moreover, tJhe delicate task of achieving a complete unity and j co-ordination of effort with the English [ and Belgian armies. He was, in short, the commander-in-chief of all the troops which resisted tJh© German onslanght on j the Yser; a heavy task, which wa3 once again to yield to him a brilliant success. Tho same qualities of endurance ond tenacity, the same heroism w'bich won for us tho battle of the Manic, secured for General Foch and the excellent troops he commanded this successful issue on the Yser. General Foch's attitude during these lhard days mnst N have recalled to many come words whicSt he ■speko at the Ecole de Guerre with all the emphasis of a vigorous faith. He quoted a phrase of Joseph de Miastre: "'A' lost battle is a battle ono believes oneself to lliave lost." And he added: "A battle, then, can only be lost morally. But, if so, it i 3 also morally that a battle i 3 won." One might add to this aphorism another: A battle won is a battle in which you refuso to acknowledge defeat. When prospects i-ere at their gloomiost, trad the Allied line wa3 retreating before >tiio • German avalanche, Foch was given supreme command. Tho retreat went on, ground was given mile after j milo, till tho spearhead l:ad lost its momentun, ai:<l tho artillery r.o longer 'Supported tiio infantry. Then the counter-stroke came. Eight, left, and centre blow after blow wa3 delivered on a plan of perfect strategy and tactics till tli.! foe, groggy and exhausted, finally took tilie count, and left the areim.