Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-21
Ioffre Is Given Whole Credit
for Winning Famous
Battle of Marine.
HELD AMERICANS HIGHLY
Joy on Attaining Victory Is
Described in Discussion Of
Armistice Negotiations.

aWdHU6Q!
Loucheur then intefvened: you
Gen. Foch accepts through his patriot
ISM but 1t is no pleasure to himi"
To his wife, who was perturbed at
seeing him shoulder so heavy burden.
Foch merely replied:
God grant that it may not be too
To his Soyhood friend, Col oraeff,
who was similarly alarmed, and said:
You are accepting the supreme conf
mand? Do you realize what 1t in
volves?"
The marshal replied simply:
yes, fully realize it. shall sue
ceed."
Commandant Bugnet's book takes
Marshal Foch through the victorious
days following the allied advance under
his leadership to November 6, when a
German wireless message announced
that German plenipotentiaries had
started for the western front. Novem-
Der 8 at 9 am. the commander-in-chief
of the allied forces received them in his
railway car at the station of Rethondes.
His own words are most impressive.
Here they are:
BEST Day Of My Life"
at was the best day of my life," said
the marshal When I saw them In
front of me, on the other side of the
table, I said to myself: There is the
German Empire can assure you
that was proud man!
Il thought: We will be polite, but
we must show them who we are
Il asked them: Who are your They
gave their names. Have you any
papers,? We must examine them Then
I asked them What do you want?'
We wish to know your proposals. I
have no proposals to make. We would
like to know upon what conditions an
armistice would be granted I have
no conditions to give YOU Erzberger
wished to read me paper-President
Wilson's note-but 1 stopped him. DO
you wish to ask me for an armistice?
If SO, say So We ask for an armistice.'
Good We will read you the conditions
drawn up by the allied governments
They were weary, tired out, like
hunted animals :. Erzberger made me
q long speech in order to secure con-
ceSsions, explaining that revolution had
broken out at home, that their soldiers
would no longer obey orders, that the
country was in state of famine, that
al authority had disappeared. I stop
ped him! You are suffering from a
losers malady, not conqueror's. !
am not afraid of it. 1 refuse every
thing And, as you know, / should
have adhered to my decision. Immedi-
ately afterward 1 wrote to the chiefs
OF the allied armies: 'Redouble your
energy in order to consolidate the re-
suits attained by our victories
Further Bloodshed Needless.
II only stopped because we held the
Rhine. Without the Rhine we should
have gained nothing. Holding the
always used to say that one did not
fight for the sake of fighting, but to
obtain results. Having secured these
results. no one had the right to 60 on
fighting :. we had to have the Rhine
We had 1t. We could sign the peace,
which we wanted We had no right to
continue shedding blood.
you understand that If you sign an
armistice, you must hold a commanding
position With us on the Rhine, they
were helpless. We were the masters.
If we had not been there, they would
have prepared defences in readiness
for us. ." On November IL, they
gave us what we asked for. The inter-
view at Rethondes. Was not that
deed? 1t marked the disintegration of
OAAS NtCADiaAA GItuRAC, anu 4 SdW ElINU6T"
ger brandish his pen and grind his
teeth when he signed the document.
I was then glad had exerted my will
and employed the means of exerting it,
for the business was settled.
That last night we spent in my
train at Rethondes. We slept but little.
During the evening, we had resumed
our discussions. I lay down from IL
pm. to 1880 am. Then we started
arguing again until Sis in the morn
ing. At last they signed. There was
a pile of papers to be dealt with. Wey-
gand took charge of everything while I
had an hours rest. At o'clock I
went to Paris with the armistice in my
pocket. It was a foggy morning, but
the sun came out later! called on
NJ Clemenceau and M. Poincare. Then
went home, to the Avenue De SAKE,
to let my family know the good news.
1t was market day. and while was
having my lunch. they saw my car
standing outside. They then commenc-
ed a demonstration under my windows.
So went off. ! was recognized in the
Place De L'Opera. There, was a bigger
demonstration than ever, and people
began to cheer. 1t seemed likely that
they would drag me out Of my car.
But wanted to get away. = - We
succeeded In giving them the slip in
the Rue Lafayette. took cover
at G. H. @.
mo, did not see the spontaneous
display of flags in the capital, but in
the suburbs I met the crowds on their
way to Paris.
Joy over delivery I" =" but there
was something more than that. 1t was
victory-I repeat, victory. We could
do what we wished with it,
Tells Of Disagreements.
Discussing his disagreement with
Premier Clemenceau and other political
leaders regarding the treatment of Ger
many following the armistice, Marshal
Foch said:
II have had frequent squabbles with
Clemenceau. The most serious arose
out of the incident on May II, when he
wanted me to send for the German
plenipotentiaries before the treaty was
signed. I refused to send the message.
/ said, No. do not understand You
do not need to understand Yes, i
do, or shall wire, by order of NJ
Clemenceau. He would not agree to
that, of course. He wanted me to sign
the message. : Eventually he sent
the telegram himself" !.
OF his disagreement with the terms
of the peace treaty Marshal Foch said:
ITO those to whom I handed over my
task, I said: Know what you will and
do it. You CAM On November IL,
handed to them an instrument with
which they could have done what they
would. They did not know how to make
use of it. They have destroyed what
gave them. They missed their oppor-
tunity. Their treaty? ] did not wish
to sign It,"
Marshal Foch felt that the repara-
tons tangle demonstrated the sound-
ness of his criticism Of the political
leaders, Bugnet writes. Foch would do
nothing more, he says, feeling that his
work ended with tlA, cessation of
hostilities.~ However, he held himself
ready for action which he felt must In
evitably result from what he regarded
as a sacrifice of the full fruits of the