Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1921-10-25
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and the reasons for not giving way to
despair. He sAid
/ I'VE will not withdrew. We will fight
where we are. We must not indicate
a line of retreat, or everyone will take
it. We must hang on-we must hold
fast. We must not give up another
metre Of ground. Remember October,
11914." .x
| NJ. Clemenceau listens. He mutters:
"C'est un b0ugre!
Minutes fly-everyone waits around,
leating sandwiches taken from General
Petain's car. At noon Lord Miner ar
rives. Again very briefly NJ. Clemen-
ceau talks to him-one feels what he
is saying-and Miner goes in alone to to
General Haig. with whom he talks III
minutes. At 20. minutes past II the
general conference begins.
T. HaIg Falls In Line
| After statement Of the situation,
in which, by his clarity and confidence,
General Foch wins the admiration OF
organization of the. command before
Amiens are. taken. up. It is at this
moment that General Haig pronounces
the following words-I cite textually
from the note of one who was present
the echo Of his conversation with
Lord Miner:
III General Foch will consent to
give his advice, shall be very glad to
follow it,"
There is no question yet Of unity Of
command. NJ. Clemenceau is not sat
|isfied. He rises and takes Lord
Miner off to a corner of the room;
then General Petain; then General
Foch. These are brief parte talks,
in which short words are exchanged.
The idea is suggested to attach Cen
|eral Foch to General Petain and en-
trust him with liason with the British.
| NJ. Clemenceau answers sharply:
That's not what we are talking
about! What Foch needs is an indie
pendent post from which he can con-
Etrol."
General Petain, a fine soldier, in
tterjects at once:
Everything you decide will be well
DONE"
Then NJ. Clemenceau sits down
again. He takes pencil and paper. He
writes, and as he writes he reads aloud.
He uses first the formula which every
one has used since the morning to de-
fine the battle which had to be won
before Amiens:
/ Foch Given Command
General Foch is charged by the
British and French governments with
co-ordinating the British and French
Operations before Amiens"
Here General Foch stops the pres
ident:
Better make it on the western
front"
NJ. Clemenceau answers:
| "Of course you are right"
And he scratches out the last words
for which he substitutes ION the west
ern front" Then he goes on:
He General Foch) will come to
an understanding to this effect with
the two commanders-in-ch chief who are
invited to furnish him with all neces-
sary information"
| 1t is now past o'clock Everybody
goes to lunch together at the old Doul-
lens Hotel Les Quatre Fills Aymon.
On the threshold of the dining room,
NJ. Lourhour, who sees success in sight
for the idea he had supported before
the war council on the previous fifth
lof October and who formerly, as an
artillery lieutenant, had served under
TIC oAOcis "a Inc new cO-OEQluALOE,
meets the latter, and says laughingly:
"Well, general, so you have got your
| paper now?"
General Foch, laughing back, says:
Yes, and a fine time to give it to
me-"
Begins His Attack.
Lunch is quickly over, and 40 min
| utes later General Foch leaves for
| British headquarters at Dury to take
| up his task, His task, the most diff
ficult of all tasks, despite the burn
ing desire of all to succeed and to
stop the enemys advance. For mill
tary life, with its simple formulate of
command and obediance, lends itself
reluctantly to combinations of this kind
which are outside it's normal sphere.
For several weeks-as was inevitable
General Foch ''co- ordinated more
by negotiation than by command
Racing from one headquarters to an
other - advising = suggesting - In
sisting-at times even hustling-he
gained inch by inch the theoretic au-
thority with which, thanks to NJ. Glenn
enceau, the crisis Of Marrh 20 had
endowed him. More was needed. A
panied by NJ. Loucheur met Generals
Foch, Fayelle, and Debeney at Breteuil
in the Disc. Then NJ. Clemenceau said
to General Foch:
"You are doing very good work. But
you do not command enough. l have
just come from Haig. l have talked
with him. l want you to go the whole
hog and give orders"
Brevet Of Command.
On April 3, new conference en-
abled NJ. Clemenceau to secure for his
point of view the seal of official sane
ton. General Foch carries away from
the conference new paper which is
an actual brevet of command There
is no longer any question of co-ordina-
ton. Henceforth General Foch is to
have 1.-The stategic direction Of mill
tary operations on the western front"
The COMMUNICATIVE chief of each of
the allied nations are to retain "the
tactical conduct Of operations with
the right to appeal to their govern
ments if they deem it necessary. This
clear definition despite the restriction
mention has most satisfactory eff
feet. All the commanders-in- chief
show the utmost will to obey and CO.
operate.
The front stiffens and hope again
rms hirh. But on Nav 81. there is a