New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-05-09


war by a disciple who is himself a
master.
The Spiritual Element
"What is really new and belongs
exclusively to Foch is the introduce
ton Of the spiritual element into
this body Of completely realistic
doctrine. 1t is the affirmation that
knowledge, reasoning, the greatest
tactical and strategic qualities, how
ever necessary they are, are nothing
if character is lacking. Foch doesn't
go to the extreme of saying that
character can make up for every
thing else. In the retreat from Ger
many Ney, attacked on his flank by
artillery, faced his columns to the
right and cried to Jomini, who
begged him to get back to first prin-
ciples: Il don't care anything for
your accursed strategy. know only
one thing. I never turn my back to
cannon Ney acted like hero, but
reasoned like child. And he quickly
repented his folly. One cannot defy
circumstances. But if, in order to
produce good results, character
needs to be supplemented by knowl-
edge and reason, they, in their turn,
according to Foch, are conditioned
by two distractions from the realm
of morals: duty and discipline and
the worship, more or less exclusive,
which is rendered to them.
'"Thus Foch restores to war that
nobility and that high idealism
which it had lost in the hands of the
Germans. He gives back a soul to
that monstrous mechanism. He sub
jects force to the great principles of
everything morality. 1t is that which
is essentially French. It is that
which brought victory. Ideas, ac-
cording to Foch, have once more
triumphed over matter"
Rejected War of Attrition
Marshal Foch had no faith in the
theory of "attrition," pursued SO
long by the Entente on the Western
front. In sharp contrast with Field
Marshal Haig, who attributed the
victory of 1918 to the attrition
campaigning of 1915, 1916 and
1917, Foch wrote in an introduce
ton to Haig's dispatches: "The re-
sulting weakness of the two oppos-
ing lines lin the Vest threatened
to prolong for some time to come
what has been called the war of
attrition-that struggle of un-
marked and unsustained advan-
tages, which wears out both armies
without bringing gain to either-a
war without result. If war is to
end in victory, it must always be
given a character different from
this"
Foch engaged in the war of attri.
ton, notably in the great battle of
Artois, in the spring Of 1915, and
in the supplementary operation on
the same ground in the fall of that
year. In his Academy address ex-
President Poincare revealed the
fact that, after the May-June battle
near Lens, Foch realized the fulfill
ity of that manner of warfare. He
advised the government not to risk
all it's available forces on the DOS
sibility of breaking through on the
theory of obtaining decision by
piercing the German front in
France. After the September bat
tie he again recommended that the
high command conduct the war
carefully and sparingly. But this
program, which was the wise
one, was not fully adopted by the
French until after Nivelle's costly
failure in the spring of 1917. 1t
was never adopted by the British.
Never Lost Faith
But even in the long period of
trench deadlock, as Poincare testi-
fies, Foch's faith in ultimate victory
was never shaken. Said the ex.
President, addressing the new mem.