### Clue: Courage of the French experienced by them initially at the front (6)
### Answer: METTLE 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Courage
 LE(French for the article "the") **placed below**(… at the front, in a down clue) [ MET(experienced/encountered, as in "they met hardship for the first time in their lives when …") **plus**(by) **1st letter of**(… initially) "them" ].