Evening star., 1941-11-28
Rv PERTINAX.

When Gen Maxine Weygand
ceased to be the delegate OF the
Vichv government to North Africa,
hs announced he was going to take
f.. rest on the Riviera and write his
memoirs.
Thus he is back at his old paStime.
For more than 20 years. he has
carefully put on record all memor-
Able dealings and developments
where he had a hand. And. since
he acted as executive aide and con-
edential adviser to Marshal Fer
dinand Foch. his writings cover
fairly long stretch of history-World
War I, the brief struggle III Poland
1920. the enforcement OF the
Treaty OF Versailles. the leadership
of the French army from 1929 to
1895. the battle of France from May
10 1910. to the Franco-German
srmistice and finally the great task
of supervision. from Rabat to Al
giers and TuniS. which. last week.
came to an abrupt end.
No man entrusted with great pub
lie functions ever had more varied
experience than Weygand or could
bring a fuller contribution to the
inside knowledge of the great Euro
pean tragedy. But l doubt that
Wevgand'S memoirs will be publish
I'd in his lifetime If he happens to
Infringe on his rule of self-imposed
silence. I doubt that he frankly will
tell the general public what he
originally had in mind.
Petain Kicked Into Action.
MANY wears ago. he read aloud
tn me from the manuscript he kept
In the drawer of his desk. Quoting
chapter and verse, he explained
that. early in 1918. Marshal Henri
Petain would have lost the war for
France and her allies, had he not
been suddenly placed under the
authority of Foch at the request of
Lord Miner and Gen. Sir Henry
Wilson. both of them frightened 10
death by the orders issued TO the
French army on the evening Of
March "a, 1918.
The 5th British Army of Gen.
Cough was falling 10 pieces under
the impact of the forceful drive the
Germans had launched three days
earlier. Petain had placed behind
the Champagne front all the re-
serves available TO him and stub
hornlv believed that the main Ger
man attack was still to come and
that it would be directed toward
Paris. He had sent u OF his dl-
visions TO the rescue OF Gen. Sir
Douglas Haig. He refused TO send
more or TO take over the British
sector up to Peronne. In his opinion
the British were done for and he
made the protection OF the French
capital his first duty.
Such was the giSt Of the lnStruc-
tions issued 70 his three command
ers Of army groups. Foch, nearly at
the same hour. took the opposite
view. In letter to Georges Clemen-
ceau, president of the council, he
urged that the gap at the junction
OF the French and British line must
be filled at any cost and he insisted
that the attending risk must de-
liberatelv be incurred Foch was
right and Petain was wrong. 1t
turned out later that, on the Ger
man side, no offensive had been
contemplated in the Champagne
area.
Tried to Delay Offensive.
As soon as the name of Petain was
mentioned. Weygand's talk. fed from
his famous diary. became inexhaust-
iole How Foch compelled Petain to
part with his chief OF staff, Gen
Antoine. a clever man but of a still
more pessimistic mood than his own
chief: how Petain, who retained
command of the French armies. Wis
tied Foch, the generaliSsimo of all
the Allies, at the outset Of Septem-
vince the latter that the offensive,
begun on July 18-the offensive
which was soon to strike the death
blow at the host of Wilhelm II-had
better be postponed until the fol-
lowing spring. Those were the most
salient points which 1 can remember.
In November. 1918, the baton of
marshal OF France solemnly was
handed to Petain on the main
square at Metz. Marshall Foch.
Marshal Haig and Gen. Pershing
were there. Behind them, in the
words Of Weygand, Gen. Desticker
(Weygand's ASSISTANT kept on re-
peating:
When one thinks that our kick
In the back put him in the place
where he stands today" An ex-
cellent second in command but
second rate supreme commander;
stch was the summing up
he wonder is that having formed
eucl an opinion of the present