The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1918-08-22
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MARSHALL FOCHT GREAT SOLDIER.
Some Of the Elements That Make for
Success III The Leader Of The
Allies.

recognized today as the supreme
soldier of his time. He has
taught the elements of war to
those who believed themselves
its absolute masters. And the
whole French system is a re-
Election Of his genius, for he was
for years head Of the republics
famous war college, and implant-
ed in the minds of the future
staffs the daring yet simple
doctrines which underlie his sue
cess.
Let us give anillustration, says
the Philadelphia North Americap.
In one Of his lectures he declar-
ed that until late in the nine
teenth century the theories upon
which French war instructions
were based were wholly incorrect.
Study and practice were concen-
trated upon the material factors
influencing results-number Of
troops, armament, commissary
arrangements, physical features
of the battlefields, and so on;
moral factors we're recognized,
but were eliminated from con-
sideration, because the aim was
to create a science of war. Thus,
said Foch:
Defeat was classified as the
product of material factors alone,
whereas we find it really to be a
purely moral result-the result Of
a state of mind, of discourage
ment, of fear brought on the
vanquished by a combined use of
moral and material factors en-
ployed simultaneously by the
victor. These theories, believed
to be true because founded on
mathematical bases, were entire
ly wrong because they had not
considered the most important
factor of all, the human factor.
They were fundamentally wrong,
because they tried to make of
war an exact science. Thus
came these exclusive studies of
ground, defenses, armament, or
ganization, administration, all
more or less scientific, but deal
ing only with the physical side of
war. As to the moral side, the
side which results from human
action, it was neither understood
nor explained. The French had
been influenced, of course, by
the triumph of Prussianism in
1870; unconsciously they had been
trying to apply to their race the
principles which were fit only for
a people like the Germans, to
whom a machine-made war is
alone conceivable.
But the doctrines and utter
ances of Foch provide even clear
er answers than this to the state
ment which disclosed President
Wilson's error. War, said the
president, in the belief that he
was offering a profound and
stimulating admonition, is un-
dramatic, practical and of scien-
tific defniteness and precision.
Contrast this with the views of
Focht, after a half century's
study and practice of war. In
the beginning of one of his books
he placed as a text this quotation
from Joseph de Maistre, noted
writer and diplomatist: "a
lost battle is a battle one believes
ones self to have lost. In
material sense battle can be lost.
= A battle, then, can only be
lost morally. If so, it is only
morally that a battle can be won."
War undramatic and Of scien-
tific precision? Nobody would
think to-day of claiming" says
Foch, that there can be
science of war. That would he
as absurd as a science of poetry,
of painting, of music" The
very essence of his doctrine is
found in a quotation he repeated
ly made from Antonio Henri
Jomini, a famous Swiss, who was
one of Napolen's leaders and be-
came one of the greatest of mill
tary theorists: Far from being
an exact science, war is a fright
ful and passionate drama" The
leader who deals with a drama of