The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-09-06
GEN. JOFFRE A
MAN OF SILENCE
Commander-in-chief of the
French Army Secretive as
Well as Taciturn.
FAMOUS AS AN ENGINEER
Promoted for Calamity in War of
1870. Has Since Come to Be
Known as Kitchener Of France.

Paris. Sept. 5-Gen- Joseph Joffre. Cen
eralissino Of the French in the new war
against Germany. is a man of silence.
His. whereabouts today are a secret. He
is almost unknown to the public and few
OF his soldiers would recognize him II
he motored by them.
Round and fat. silent and saturnine.
Jotfre is not unlike the great Corsican in
build and characteristics. He has a pro-
found belief in Napoleonic principles, 10
strike first, 10 hit the enemy in many
places at once and 20 veil his movements
with secrecy
JOffre believes in making war in 81
lence. Indeed. that has been the marked
difference between this campaign and the
one OF forty -four years ago Then. the
names OF generals were on every tongue,
now none knows who is the leader in any
particular exploit. When a French brig
ade entered MulhaUsen a few days ago,
the public was no; told who was the
hrigadier in command. for fear !, would
prove valuable information for the en-
envy
Never Betrnys His Rank.
1t is related Of JoTre that he never
betrays his rank even TO his own men
who do not know him. When the troops
were being modified at the beginning
of this war. The generalissimo was at a
railway station, but without any insig-
MIA TO denote his rank. There were a
group Of reservists on the platform.
All were talking voluably Of going to
war.
When do you john" one youth asked
Joftre.
I have already Joined" was the quiet
answer.
Where do you come from was asked
Paris was the laconic answer.
What's your name persisted the ru-
raj reservist
1t is best for soldiers to have no
names" the generalissimo said. with one
Of his rare smile and when an officer
who recognized him would have rep-oved
the reservist, Joffre forbade him.
To strike rather than to be struck is
one OF his axioms. He believes in a
policy Of attack.
Gen. Joseph Joffre, though a great
strategist has won his greatest fame as
a builder OF forts and roads. He is a
man of fine intelligence. with the steel
gray eyes of a dreamer. but the ease
with which he has manipulated 1000. 900
French troops since the war began shows
that he is practical as well.
''Joffre. the tactiturn.' as he is known
to the general staff. is scarcely known
to Parisians. In times OF peace he is re-
firing to a degree and shuns public rec
ogntion.
He entered the army in the war Of 1870
when only eighteen years old. and was
promoted for gallantry on the field by
Marshal MacMahon Immediately after
the war he was intrusted with rebuilding
the forts around Paris. the forts that to-
day are being prepared again to defend
the capital against the Germans.
Made a captain at twenty-five Joffre
was sent into the east Of France to build
up the chain of fortresses there
Afterward he spent many years raising
at Tonkin and MADAGASCAR |
His next brilliant achievement was the !
of the uprising in Dahomey.
There. with a small force. he utterly !
crushed the natives, and after a short /,
marched into Timbuctoo. Since !
that time Joffre has been at the head |
Of the French war college, where officers |
are trained. In addition he has been the !
supreme organizer of the French army, !
and when war doomed on the horizon !
there was no debate about placing JofSre |
in the field as generaIissimo. Nobody |
else was thought OF. He is the Lord 4
Kitchener Of France.