The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-03-19
JOFFRE,, MASTER MIND OF WAR BOARD, .
PLANS BL OWS ON ALL FRONTS
Man Zach tor France Britain and Supreme Power
Meet Pans to Coordinate Attacks the East West and South
4 Thus Avoiding Past Mistakes.

1T resulted in his obtaining the supreme
command of the French forces in al
war zones. More than two months pass
ed before the British cabinet solved tn,
problem Of delegating sufficient power
! to a general to permit him to confe
! with Joffre and take far-reaching de
cisions on his own responsibility, but a
length the appointment OF Sir william
| Robertson as chief of stan. and the re
moyal OF the imperial general staff from
under the orders OF Lord Kitchener a!
minister of war placed Robertson II
strategic control, answerable only to tht
war council of the British cabinet
This final check over the one man II
the British high command who rose from
the ranks may be abolished If one victory
crowns the armies of King George. The
political problems which had to be solved
before Joffre and Robertson could meet
and decide what to do did not WORRY
the autocratic car. who conferred pIen.
airy powers on General Jilinsky, and Sc
the allied war board was formed.
Munitions Council Separate.
This body should not be confused with
the permanent munition council. now in
full working order under the control OF
the ministers for munitions OF France
Britain, Russia and Italy. or with the
general war council, as it may be called
which is in process of formation and
has not vet been given a name
Conferences here and in London be-
tween French and British cabinet men,
bers, the recent trip of Premier BRAND
to Rome and a political mission from
the western powers now in Russia have
for their object the formation OF a gen
eral war, council which shall decide. how
many men, how much money and how
much war material each ally shall con-
tribute to the common cause. II such
a body ever meets-and the political OBJ
staCles in the way of its formation are
enOrmous-it will decide, for instance,
the conflicting claims Of the Britons who
contend that England should put every
available man in the field, that she
should keep her remaining men at home
and make munitions for the allies and
that she should concentrate on her nor
NAL export. trade so as to be able to
finance the war for the entente. There
are also rumOrs, into which 1t is I'M
advisable to inquire too closely. about a
naval council to decide questions of su-
preme Importance.
JOnre Dominates War Board.
The war board is supreme in the domain
of military strategy. If Joffre is in virtual
control of the war board, as Is believed
he owes his position to force Of char
acter. to the confidence of his colleagues
and to the fact that he commands the
French army, greatest weapon of the en-
tente excepting the British navy, which
is outside the sphere of the board
Joffe's position with respect to the Brit
ish army may be illustrated by a bald
summary OF recent happenings. There
was at the beginning OF the war an I'M
Outstanding that the supreme command in
France belonged to Jofrre. but Marshal
French took his orders from Kitchener
and not from JOffre. do not know that
there was any friction. and the British
command tried to fall in with the desires