Evening star., 1951-06-21

| "Ho Chi-minh employed "a bat
ltalions," Gen. De Lattre said. "He
had been piling up arms TO,
months. He has at least 20 under
ground arsenals where he turns
lout first-rate stuff-handmade ol
with primitive tools, but copied
from latest American models. The
Indo-Chinese have always been
great craftsmen. and OH! those
wonderful little bazookas! tOut
went the hands. again). He at
tackled in German formation, too!
] recognize the old one-two on the
lflanks with the swift central punch
we faced in France in 1940!"
Gen. De Lattre was the youngest
general in the French army when
World War II began. Six times in
1910 he threw back German ar
mored divisions on the Aisne.
When he heard that the Germans
had crossed the demarcation line
lin 1912 he fought them again in
the Pyrenees. He was arrested by
the Vichy government and i'm
Iprisoned at Riom but managed to
Iget to England. His son Bernard,
then lad Of IS, helped engineer
the escape.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
thought so much of Gen. De Lattre
he placed 10000 Americans under
him when the French general lib
Grated Colmar. in Alsace, and was
the first of the Allies to reach the
Rhine in 1914.
He Spares No One.
1t is the fine fighting tradition
of the French which Gen. De
Lattre best represents. Twice dur
ing our dinner he referred to his
military severity-ma durete de
soldat. He spares no one. Shortly
after his arrival among the Wet
namese. his son, 1t. Bernard De
Lattre de Tassigny came to visit
him. The meeting was particularly
warm, for this 23-year-old (whom
a special army dispensation had
permitted to join the French forces
at 16) had not seen his father for
nearly three years.
And what sector do you come
Ifrom?" asked father over the ap-
Ieritifs. Proudly his son told him
that his company was in the front
line. Gen. De Lattre's eyes flashed
indignation. You leave your men
at the front at moment like this
for a purely personal matter?"
thundered the general. "Who gave
you permission?" The young lieu
tenant was Immediately sent back
to his post and, along with the
major who granted his leave, was
disciplined.
Only recently 1t. De Lattre was
killed in an exposed delta position.
Cracked by Loss.
Crushed by the loss of his only
son. Gen. De Lattre seemed to
weaken. He few back to Paris
with his boys body. But it was
no personal matter" that took
him from the front.
In less than a week he was back
again in Hanoi with the definite
promise of troop reinforcements
for which he had long been clam
oring.
Gen. De Lattre's gifts are not all
military. He won great diplo-
matte triumph last May when he
persuaded Tran Van HUI, Wet
namese Prime Minister, to an
nounce formally that Hos forces
were enemies of the Vietnam peo-
pie.
This means that, at last, I can
carry on war with unhampered
hands. That proclamation made
1t clear to all that we French are
for Vietnam, not against
them. So many of your American
missionaries keep harping on the
evils of French colonialism with
out realizing that If we withdrew
the Communists could take over
Immediately with a very much
harsher form of colonialism. You
Americans could help us a great
deal more on this score, for you
should understand our position.
His eyes were very stern as he
said this.