Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-21
FOCH PICKED AS
NEXT WAR GIANT
French General One of
Frances Three Greatest
Military Leaders.
MAY GIVE ALLIES AID
BY HERBERT COREY.

PARIS. November 21.-Gen. Foch was
given his chance in this war when he
was made French member of the SUI
preme war council. Perhaps it is
more accurate to say that he was
given a chance at his chance. If he
is big enough, broad enough, de-
termined enough, he may do the cause
of the allies infinite good. If he falls
short he will merely be forgotten.
No one here hopes for any good
from the supreme war council 1t was
erected merely as politicians shelter
against the wind of popular distrust-
Foch is the single one of its three
members who today has really high
standing as a solder. Gen. Wilson was
failure as a corps commander In the
British army In spite of the camou-
faging of the press. he has never been
intrusted with work of the nrst I'M
portance. Gen. Cadornas star fell
when the Italian army collapsed He
had been warned by both French and
British experts that the Germano-
Austrian forces were preparing giant
drive:
What we could take we can keep"
said Cadorna, and so that lets him out.
One of Three Great Men.
three great men of the French army
of today. When I say 'classed' / mean
by soldiers. He and Petain and Cas-
teinau are regarded as Frances great
est fighting men. CasteInau is royal
list. and SO he is automatically barred
from great advancement France has
not yet been hit SO hard that her poll
ticians will put the interests of the
country before that of a party. Petain
is in-chief. Foch either
has his feet on the way that leads to
glory-or else he has been shelyed.
Time alone viii tell.
French and British Confer.
The French and British do consult one
another on the western front. and they
kept on speaking terms with the italians,
but that is all Each country operated
its own offensives or defensives on it's
own hook When the Americans come in
we shall likely do the same thing. Ma
tional pride demands independent ac-
ton.
Lloyd George made his frank and
adroit Paris speech in which he told
some of the cold and unpleasant truths
about the allies side of the war. Every
one knew these things and suspected
more. but ne disarmed reproach by stat
ing them. Then he devised his plan for
the supreme war council supreme
war council without powers or authority
-on which he planned to place three
broken and yalueless men. Cadorna and
Wilson were to be Joined by Nivelle. who
was the French commander-in-chief un-
til he made such a hash of the April
offensive.
I believe Lloyd George would have
accepted Joffre. but the French would
not take him.
Opinions and sentiments differ wide |
ly about Joffre- There is one faction |
that holds him to be the greatest living |
general and the savior of his country. |
There is another which insists that he |
was always pine facade, behind |
which Castelnau did the thinking. and |
ing. Maybe we shall know after the |
war. when the unpublished orders are
published.
Wilson a Failure.
At any rate. there is Foch on the
council, with a dead man tied to either
hand The British will pay not the
slightest attention to anything Wilson
may say. If they appear to. it will be
because some one behind has told Will
son what to say. This may seem harsh
but 1t is hard situation. No one will
listen to Cadorna. for he has failed bad
ly. But Foch is the man who has had
the fighting Goth Corps reconstructed
ten. TWELVE do not know how many
times.
He is a big man. fighting man, not
the strategist Castelnau is, perhaps, but
a fine. keen. clean soldier. The French
will back him. II am any judge of the
situation. Further. his appointment
seems to indicate that the French take
the supreme war council seriously and
do not regard it only as a funk hole for
a politician to hide in. 1t is safe to say
there will never be generalissimo of
the allied armies because England and
France and Italy will never consent to
ha nd rf afv
armies to an outlander. But Foch and
the French may give real lead to al
lied war councils for the first time. 1t
Is up to Fcch. 1t is a question Of big
ness.