Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-29
Mastery Tactics of
Leader in Retreat
Saved French Army
From Destruction.
By WILLIAM PHILIP s1MMs

-NiNiS' July @-General Joe Joffre
must be enumerated among the great
French successes Of the first i2 months
Of the war.
This goes as IL stands, whatever he may
or may not do In the future. / say
THIS because Joffre is not without his
critics, There are those who saw he
ought to move faster.
Joffre already deserves the undyinr
gratitude of his country II he never
strikes another blow. He refused at
Charleroi, TO sacrifice his men for
brilliant but temporary success, though
he must have known the country was
waiting for him to make good; he or
derd that soul-sickenlng retreat before
superior foe when he knew that every
heart In France was Weighted down by
doubt concerning him and his army. he
patiently sought and seized the oppor-
tunity he was looking for then instantly
transformed the swift German advance
on Paris into a disorderly retreat; he
stopped short the mighty second Ger
man offensive in the west against the
Channel ports and pinned his enemy
down for long winter trench campaign
where he held the advantage; he won the
confidence of his men, individually tn,
most intelligent soldiers in the world
giving them reason for their cheerful
NOuAhbtt WHICH never lhlLeTeQ, even on
the coolest, wettest midwinter days.
Lastly, but by no means least he SO
handled his resources in material and
men that now, at the beginning of the
second year of the war the French army
is the finest fighting body in the melee
Joffre was the one man in Frances 40,-
100000 for the job.
JoFFRE AN ACCIDENT.
At that, Joffre was an accident!
That France had the right man for the
place and at the moment he was most
needed was almost pure accident, for her
system OF running the army, until a year
or so before the war broke out. was not
calculated to develop the man for the
job.
For some reason France had not seen
fit to nominate a generalsslmo, COM
mander-in-chief of her army, until just
prior to the war. There was simply a
Board of Generals and this board was su-
preme.
Maheuvers were conducted just as one
would expect a board to conduct them
The Blue Army, under one set of gen.
erals, would take such and such position
at such and such a time. The Red Army
under another set of generals, would op'
pose the Blues, and to do this they would
hold such and such a line The action
world begin at a specified time, would
take specified form and cease at pre-
arranged hour, the Blues and Reds ther
to be occupying this or that position.
For a given number of days this sort
of thing would continue until the fina
event, which took place before the Presi
dent of the republic and his guests, for
elgn military attaches. and the rest, who's
tinsel-tasselled tents were pitched on th'
yIr ILL H. Ill ttrka la
climax according to arrangemenD woulC
unfold itself.
Naturally maneuvers under such cir
cumstances scarcely developed initiative
on the part of generals and their STATS
The weaker ones and indolent fellow:
wero able to make about as good show
ing as the best.
MADE GENERALISsIMO.
Suddenly all this was changed. Joffr'
came on the scene. The general unrest II
Europe showed to France the unwisdon
of letting this situation continue anc
Joffre was named generalissimo of the
army How he came to be named Is moi
clearly known; have heard that General
Pau was the first choice, but he, for rea'
sons of his own, thought Joffre ought to
be named. And Joffre 1t was.
Joffre was destined to have but one 80
ut pldylilb war btAblC ANNNeA "oA bNbeAa'f
but he changed the rules radically for this
one. He gave the Blue Army city and
its surrounding country to hold and he
told the Red Army to take it. He told
them to go to II. All methods were good
there was no time out" for anything
and he hoped the best man would win.
There was the dickens to pay. of course.
Easy-going officers were left far behind;
incompetency developed in unlooked-for
places; whole commands got captured,
generals commanding. staffs and all.
There were all sorts of mix-ups. but
Joffre looked on and took in every de-
tail The newspapers hinted that the
maneuvers were a fasco and that the
French army was in a bad way. But
Joffre considered the war game the most
successful he had ever witnessed
He had found the weak spots in the
machine, and knowing them, he could
apply the remedy. He applied 1t and
number OF officers were retired.
War caught Joffre in the middle Of his
REORGANIZATION. But he fought II out
like a man until he won a breathing SPELL
then he dispassionately continued his
merciless looping of Of official heads His
generals now average 10 years younger
than at the start and he has tried man
az every part OF the line
Joffre has accomplished all this In
year.