Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-28

camp! Well, consult your colleague
Lhonital. who already knows all the
ropes. Make your arrangements with
him."
Thank you, sir!'
Eyes, exactly Go and put your slip
perS on
He dismissed me with a gesture and
returned to his reading. He disliked
chatter Certainly he counted on my
devotion. 1t was superfluous to assure
him of it; it was my duty to prove 1t
to him 1t was by my work that he
would Judge me, not by my promise.
He was right.
MY surprise arose from the eclipse
of my anticipations. All my fancied
knowledge of the marshal was nothing
compared to what 1 was going to learn
about hin1-so forcible was his per-
sonality, so unwavering his will. so
original and characteristic the ebulli-
ton by which he at once revealed and
concealed his latent ardor
Men sometimes rise whose names
are suddenly carried by events to the
four corners of the world. And yet,
considering the bearer Of such a name,
one hardly knows what brought him
fame AS for the actual nuances of
his character, his intimate qualities. the
natural disposition of his personality"
that is where legend steps In. -
A Great Name Scars.
The great war had just finished.
Over the memory of those last months
scared one of these names, which was
murmured like a prayer in the agony
Of disaster, and sung like hymn of
Thanksgiving amid the Joy of victory
Foch
BY the magnitude Of the cause which
he defended of the responsibility which
he bore and Of the victory which he
won; by the strength of his character
in the great ordeal and the ascendancy
Of his genius in the conduct of the cam
paign. the marshal commanded respect
and extorted admiration. His renown,
his glory, were such that he no longer
belonged only to the sphere Of our ma
tional life, but henceforth formed part
of the inheritance of humanity. Moth
ing, therefore, that concerned him can
be regarded with indifference.
And yet, what does the world know
of him?
Born at Tarbes on the second Of Oc-
tober, 1851, he joined the army for the
period of the war in 1870, but the
armistice arrived before he could take
part in the struggle.
Entered at the Ecole Polytechique
some months later. he passed out as
artillery officer. In 1885, as a captain,
he entered the staff college in Paris
After an appointment on the general
staff, he returned to the staff college
as professor of strategy, in which capac-
ity he delivered the famous series OF
lectures which were collected and pub
lished under the titles, Principles Of
War" and THE Conduct of War"
After holding command of an artil-
lery regiment at Vannes, he was pro-
NOTED to general rank and returned
once more to the staff college, this time
as commandment. He was then in
trusted with a division, and soon after
ward with an army corps. In 1914 he
commanded the army corps at Nancy.
During four years of war he was
destined to bring into play his military
science and to fill the highest COM
mands At the battle of the Marine he
led the 9th Army, which distinguished
itself in the marshes of Saint-Gond.
Appointed as deputy to Gen. Joffre,
he co-ordinated the operations of the
French northern armies, bore the brunt
of the German attack on the User,
and directed the operations in Artois.
then the battle of the Somme. Before
his next action In commanding ct
Senlis he directed an investigation into
very important questions Of inter-allied
cooperation.
As chief Of the general staff he plan