The Bismarck tribune., 1929-04-30


= premonition Of Huck's deadly In.
tcntion came to him.
Ito De Continued)
Marshal JOffre Now is
Hailed as Early War
time Savior of France
Continued from page one) !
delicate situation was solved by al
lowing, the two marshals to ride side
by side ct the head Of the parade.
But Ill through the years no an.
swer came to the question Of what
Foch thought Of Joffre. Since hil
death, tongues have been loosenec
and diaries opened ana there nc
longer Is any doubt that Foch looked
upon Joffre as . great leader and
the savior Of France In 1914.
Tells Of Chats with Foch
In latter days Conmandant Bugnet
made it . practice to walk home with
Marshal Foch from the Invalides at
lunch time, and he used to chat with
hi:-l about various aspects Of the war
"Joffre was extraordinary" Foch
remarked on one occasion, Bugnet
now reveals. HE was . man Of the
soundest judgment, but he never did
anything by himself. You had ia
propose something, prepare = plan
and then he weighed It and decided
He knew how to get work out Of his
men and he was real chief"
According to Foct, the men around
Joffre called him the ''life-buoy." On
those very black days Of August, 1914
which even Foch admitted were
"anguishing," General Headquarters
under the personality Of Joffre was
calm and orderly. Joffre was max
ing cool decisions while Gallieni
foamed at the telephone.
Joffre's Part Revealed
"But did Joffre really win the Bat
tie Of the Marne?" Buenet now re-
veals he one day asked Foch.
Certainly" was the reply. ITO be
sure he did. He had prepared it and
its realisation was carried through.
And It really was q very great VIC
tory. Joffre was the needed man
He could stand the brunt. He could
take punishment and fight on with
out losing his head"
"And Gallieni2" asked Bugnet.
Foch replied:
"dallieni pointed out that the time
had arrived. Joffre had wanted to
retreat to the Seine, but he yielded
to 0allieni's reasons. II he had been
beaten no man would have tried to
claim the defeat. He won, and to
him goes the glory of victory. II we
had not had him in 1914 I don't
know what would have become Of U.S.
Foch's Judgment Stands
The case is now judged. Foch has
spoken posthumously. Joffre, at n,
lives in Paris with his wife, but his
health has not been good recently.
It is certain that Joffre made mis-
takes. according to his critics, and
propably the biggest was to mobilize
the army in the wrong place. His
original plan of campaign was wrong,
but he corrected 1t. He did not be-
lieve in what he called "tin hats for
the troops, but in 1914 Foch did not
believe in airplanes; said they were
good only for sport.
At the beginning, Joffre thought
he could beat the Germans in two
months and later was mistaken with
the tactics he described as 'nibbling
ut them" at time when the enemy
was taking mouthfuls. This caused
him to be superseded in 1916, but he
had been . tower Of strength when
the men Of France were fighting with
their backs to the wall.
Anecdotes to Light
Interesting personal anecdotes Of
Joffre have come to light since the
death Of Foch. Near Mulhouse, In
the early days Of the war, Joffre was
watching one day, with all his big
ness and white moustache but with
out any suggestion Of gold braid. a
group Of weary troops slouching
along. One man was without q can
and Joffre asked him what had be-
come Of It. Lost 1t hack there" the
soldier replied. Take this one, my
friend" said Joffre, and he handed
the man his own kept, which was sew
eral sizes too large.
Joffre liked to do little things like
this. but he did not always play ia
the gallery. His critics agree he was
very much more hard-boiled than he
looked, or than most people thought
him. In making omelets he never
spared his eggs, "a. the French saying
goes. His massive silence" was
mostly guile.
Intsrviews Sought
Army friends and men with q pull
would intrigue for weeks ct 0f5o "a
get IN interview and explain some
pet way Of winning the war, or pro-
motion. Joffre would listen with
monumental patience and then would
suddenly interrupt the strategist with
q jovial slap on the back and the re-
mark, "etill the same old fellow,
see" And that was that, but he did
it amiably.
It has been said that Joffre did
not win the Battle Of the Marne, in
fact was hardly aware there was such
Z river. 0allieni alone did it--with q
few Paris taxicabs, according 70 these
critics. It was and remains 4 good
story. that heroic charge Of the Paris
taxicabs that made Van Kluck turn
tail. but Joffre Vas there, his mas
sive figure and stubborn faith bull
warks Of French defense:
There Is . good story Of 0allieni
IN Paris ringing up oHQ ana saying
THAT you. Joffre2 Listen here.
want yeu to attack at once. nav. this
instant" Jolfre remained calm and
wasted ten INMATES on the telephone