El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-10-27
General Proposed Bring the War Close One Great Movement
but His Plans Maned Every Except British g Did
His Part and More Campaign; Failure Cost French 10000 Casualties

Z Clemenceau, himself With the French
I politicians he was so unpopular that
I il was easy for BRAND 10 pass over
Z him and difficult 20 choose him.
Foch Next LogicaI Chcsce.
Next to Petain. Foch seemed to the
( outside world the logical choice. He
had been Jotfre'S most brilliant lieu
I tenant in the Marine. he had won the
I battle OF the User and had commanded
the French troops in the then recent
battle - the Somme. But while the
I British and the outside world counted
the Somme victory. France counted
IL check and after the battle Foch' s
great army had been broken I'd and
Foch had been assigned to task which
was little more than q disguised dis
grace.
In APRIL. 1917 exactly year be-
fore he assumed supreme command
OF all the allied armies, he wss en-
gagged In making plans TO resist a
hypothetical German invasion through
Switzerland and Paris gossip reported
hausted mentally and physically by
his great labors.
Aside from Foch and Pstain. NivelIe
was. perhaps. the logical man He
had served with distinction under
Petafn at Verdun and had succeeded
him, when Petain vas promoted 70
command a group OF armies While
he commanded at Terdun. the two
successful operations which rstooz
the forts had been made. although
they had, in reality been planned by
There was. in addition. the belief.
wholly correct, that the coming Of
Niveue to the supreme command
would mean more aggressive action.
while Petain was known TO be hostile
TO any great and extensive CANDLES
PounIar with Politicians.
With thu politicians NlTe1la was
popular. To the statesmen Of Britain
as vel as o. France he outlined
stunendous conceptions with cold
ness Of manner and a ea1rness which
raptivated his auditors. IN ali wavs
he must be regarded as one OF the
-arua rkahle figures OF the conflict
He brought 70 British and French
rulers. moreover. a colossal plan. with
the precise moment when iruediate
and decisive military victory had be-
come q matter of life and death. be-
cause ~ the submarine situation
At VerFun- Nivel1e had seen Petaiu
accouu1feh striking results hv care
FOLLY calculated estimates OF the true
relation between the forces available
md the possibilities o. the situation.
IN other words nr limited operations
dssiEned 20 reach local detectives.
e7iveile now or9oosed TO reDeat on
'front.' between Rheims and Arras what
petain had done On = three or four
niles front on The Meuse h=ights-
When he came TO Paris for the first
time. he told his amazed hearers the
Question vas not one OF the short
distances. that n his plans were mt |
~ operation. the question and the l
sole question would be whether the {
cerr1s-s would halt at the Meuse on 4
the Phine.
Outlined stupendouH Plans.
Nivelle's plan envisaEed a gigantic 1
Sedan. Two groups Of French armies, 4
'ne commanded by Franchet dEsperev Z
and operating vest Of the Disc the 4
other led by lIicheler and stretching /
along the Aisne were TO advance east 4
and north respectively. breaking the
German lines and euveIo1lnE vast
German forces. with consequent cap
lures OF hundreds q thousands of
German troops and innumerable
cannon
IN NiveIle's conception. tbs whole