The Washington times., 1929-03-20

Just "a hours ago a member of
khe Marshal's staff said he did not
think that the patient would live
X 10 see the end of the week.
Marshal Foch himself never
heemed to realize the seriousness
pf his condition. On one occasion,
= he called for the newspapers and
when he had glanced through them
he fixed the chief of his doctors
with a stern eye and asked:
F sam really this sick?"
Kept His Appetite
A circumstance that puzzled the
doctors was the continued appetite
of the patient even after his condi-
4 kion became critical.
u The soldier had always lived
1 simply. He never drank liquor. He
probably received more invitations
to banquets and dinners than any
4 other man in France up to the time
4 he had to take to his bed. but he
never tasted the rich foods and
wines set before him.
His favorite dish was a plain
omelet with bread and butter and a
glass Of water.
/ Marshal Foch rose from compare.
T tive obscurity after the first Battle
of the Marre, when his military
genius was largely responsible for
the allied victory which stopped the
German drive into France and saved
; Paris.
Mighty events, without parallel in
the history of the world, caught him
up and lifted him to a pinnacle of
power and glory which even death
: could not topple. He was one of
{ the few army commanders. allied or
German, whose stature did not
: diminish under the calm and studied
! scrutiny OF peace.
Fame Grows
{ Though there have been many to
point a finger and say. HE made
b mistake here" his fame will, un.
Y houbtedly, grow with the years, and,
In tiIne, he may join the small com.
,pany Of 1mmortals whose note.
worthy members are Alexander,
Caesar. and Napoleon.
He was called to power and se-
Bected ais the generalissino of TO-.
100000 armed men, speaking a
{ score of different languages, when
in comparative disfavor and retired
from active service.
France, even in war time, like
y other countries, had it's politicians.
They decided in April, 1917, that
Foch was no longer fit for an in
/ dependent field command. So, he
f+Swas Kicked upstairs" and made
French military member Of the
Supreme War Council.
This organization with representa-
y tion from the various nations fight.
ing on the allied side, was source
I. pf constant pickering and dispute.
But Foch, like the true soldier he
WAS, obeyed orders without ques-
zion.
This was the man who had stood
ht the Marne. holding the French
center, when Marshal Joffre put his
back to the wall and told his reeling
!. army that it could retreat no
! further.
Ferdinand Foch was born at Tar
] bes, a little city in the Pyrenees.
close to the Spanish. frontier, on
{ october 2, 1851. He received his
military education at Metz and
SERVED as a subaltern in through
the disastrous Franco.Prussian
War. He was appointed lieuten-
hnt in 1875. Three years later he
! Avas made a captain. It was not
until q years later that he rose
10 be q lieutenant colonel. He was
appointed colonel in 1908. In 1911
{ he was a general commanding the
Thirteenth division.
At War College
In the meantime Foch was in.
structor in the Ecole de Guerre
the French War College, where
he Iectured on tactics. Promotion
was slow in those lazy days of
peace. The only fighting was with
kribesmen in far away colonies.
But there were hectic days to
come. Foch was major general,
commanding the Twentieth army
corps, when the first German Uhlan
rode across the frontier in August,
1914.
It was not until 191S--the same
year he was designated generals
gimo Of all the allied armies--that
he was made marshal of France.
Earlier In the conflict Foch COM
hnanded a French army in the
trace for the English Channel
when the Germans were trying to
seize the Channel ports to cut short
any -ulreCI lcOulIMuulcdtIOn DSLWS0H
England and the English armies
fighting on French soil
Foch was moved from point to
point along the great western battle
front, for the fighting arena was ex-
tensive and trained army officers
were few, compared with the vast
number of men under arms. He
helped direct the Aisne offensive
and the Artois drive after the Ger.
mans had t'dug i'm and the conflict
settled down to q battle Of attrition.
Wins New Honors
Cabinets changed in Paris. New
men came into power and Foch
4 was So. His career was apparently
In its evening whe1 he was grace.
GmIly "promoted."
After being appointed General.
Ssstmo Foch concentrated all his
snergies in welding unified fight.
Ing machine. He was TO deliver a
telling stroke at the weakest point
on the German front, but he took
his time for the preparations.
The United States had come into
- wan ThsEs we're nearly LO0Ap