The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1920-01-27
THE PIPE OF FoCH

@ THE PIPE OF FoCH =:
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II did it by smoking my pipe,' says
Marshal Foch, answering his own
question, "How, then did I win the
war;" The fgurative expression Will
become historic. Ages hence men will
quote it when talking about the great
war and discussing the strategy OF
the savior Of civilization. In the dark
hours of his troubles the Marshal Of
France smoked many pipes to see his
way clear to victory. He never lost his
head, even when the Germans were
knocking at the door Of Amiens with
their high-power shells; when the
British had their backs against the
wall at KENNEL Hill ard only the last
reserve could save the Hash5rouck-
Yprcs railway; and when the Ameri-
cans and Moroccans at Chateau
Thiery barred the road to Paris.
Explaining his figure of speech,
Focll says that he did not get excited,
he reduced everything 20 its essentials
he avoided c.so:c5s emotions, he con-
centra.ed all his strength upon his
ioD. Il Goes not tell the wnole story.
Other generals have been calm, ph!lo-
sophie, determined, energetic, and
they have willed victory, but it has
not come. The great Frenchnan had
a genius for action at the right time,
and in the emergency his courage
was tremendous-there is no other
word for it. More than once during
the conflict he snatched success from
the black jaws of defeat. At the
most critical stage of the first battle
of the Marne, when his corps was
giving way, he reinforced a part OF
the line, and by furious and we'll
timed assault turned the tide OF bat
tie. It was the same on the User a
month later, when the enemy threat
ened to break through to the Channel
ports. The Marshal smoked another
pipe, and the enemy was thrown back
and had to dig in. A very thin line
of skilled ard stubborn resistance
saved the allied armies from disaster
on that occasion. Ferdinand Foch
was not in supreme command at the
time, but he had charge of the User
front.
After the conference at Beauvals
on April 8, 1918, when the fortunes
of the allies, including the Americans
ready for battle, were committed to
Marshal Foch, he seems to have been
busy until July 1s smoking pipes Tor
calmness and concentration. 1t was
on the latter date that he ordered
the offensive that never stopped until
the ar1nistice ended hostilltles on
Nov. II. That was the greatest and
most wonderful aggressive movement
recorded in the history of warfare
since men have contended in battle
The mind that ordered and directed
it was the mind of the Frenchman
who says that since the age of II ne
had 'tdreamed of revenge after haV'
ing seen the Germans at Metz.
Napoleon was his inspiration in diff
ficulties. II remember" he says
"that before the master had said, !
must get out of Vienna, and he had
been beaten several times.
In the four months lacking a few
davs after the Germans began thell
well-planned offensive in March, 1918
Marshall Fosh was often beaten and
sometimes near the end of his re-
sources, but he smoked on bravely
and ideas came to him to be trans
lated into action when the enemy
was not prepared for it. In Foch,s
retreats .snares are set;; the terrain
was better known to him than to the
Germans and when he struck he was
like the boxer with the right foot for
ward and the blow started to the
point of contact. The Marshal com
presses his strategy into one illumina,
ting sentence: "It was necessary tc
! face the idea Of defeat and to face
the idea Of victory that IS to Say
to plan victory while enduring re.
verses. The result, he firmly be.
leves, was as Providence had decreed
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