OUR YOUNGEST FIELDMARSHAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 November 1919, Page 12

OUR YOUNGEST FIELDMARSHAL.

THE BRAIN THAT BEAT HINDENBURG.

Sir Henry Wilson, the brilliant Irish Chief of the Imperial General Staff, was the guest at a dinner given recently by memlbers of the House of Commons. In the course of the e.vening the Premier made the announcement that the King had raised their guest to the rank of Field.Marshal.

Proposing the health of Sir Henry Wilson, Mr. Lloyd George .said they were met to honor a great soldier who rendered his services to his country at the most critical moment in its great storm—services better known to the few associated with him in this .country than to the general public outside. Under the direction of Lord Haldane, Sir Henry made arrangements with Marshal Foch, then General Foch, for the IVpeditionary Force that the Government, decided to send in 1914. There was no noise, no fuss, no advertisement ahout it; there was no hitch. (Cheers.) No one knew that it had been done until it had been done, and no one. then knew that it had been done by him. A second service of no mean order that he had rendered had been in smoothing difficulties between the, Allies. No mane.-had done more to overcome these difficulties, to weld us into one force, to promote good feeling by his tactics, adroitness, good temper," and gcod humor, than Sir Henry Wilson. Tliirdlv, the setting up of the groat Council of Versailles for the. co-ordina-tion of Allied strategy was due very large to Sir Henry's inspiration. He set about the task with a good deal of characteristic ingenuity, setting up a British section and a German section. The German section was to devise all sorts of diabolical schemes for the destruction of the Allies; the British section was to do its best to counter all those machinations. There was thus an attempt to project oneself into the minds of the enemy, and And out what, they were likely to do nekt. In January, IMS, he forecasted the new German plan of attack, and his prediction that the enemy woul.l put, their whole strength into breaking our wide front in the Cambrni district was one of the most remarkable in the history of military strategy. In his reply. Sir Henry AVilson said that when he ;ook up his appointment he was warned by some newspapers and by some people that the Prime Minister'was very tricky, and that he was a mere tool. But they had been through some tight places together, anil he had never known him to interfere once. There are now nine field-marshals of the British Army, of whom General Wilson is the second youngest. Thev are: The Duke of Connaught. who is fiO; Sir F.velvn Wood, SI; Lord. Grenfell. 78; Lord"Methuen. 74; Viscount French, 07; Sir T). Ilaig, 58; Sir O. C. TCgerton, 71; the Emperor of Japan, 39; General Wilson, '53.