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Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (October 2, 1851 – March 20, 1929) was a French soldier, military theorist, and author credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French Army" in the early 20th century.[1] He served as general in the French Army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its final year, 1918. Shortly after the start of the Spring Offensive, Germany's final attempt to win the war, Foch was chosen as supreme commander of the allied armies during World War I, a position that he held until November 11, 1918, when he accepted the German Surrender. He advocated peace terms that would make Germany unable to ever pose a threat to France again. His words after the Treaty of Versailles, “This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years,” would prove prophetic.
Early life
Foch enlisted in the French 4th Infantry Regiment, in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, and decided to stay in the army after the war. In 1871, Foch entered the École Polytechnique and received his commission as a Lieutenant in the 24th Artillery Regiment, in 1873, despite not having the time to complete his course due to the shortage of junior officers. He rose through the ranks, eventually reaching the rank of Captain before entering the Staff College in 1885. In 1895, he was to return to the College as an instructor and it is for his work here that he was later acclaimed as "the most original military thinker of his generation".[2] Turning to history for inspiration, Foch became known for his critical analyses of the Franco-Prussian and Napoleonic campaigns and of their relevance to the pursuit of military operations in the new century. His re-examination of France's painful defeat in 1870 was among the first of its kind. In his career as instructor Foch created renewed interest in French military history, inspired confidence in a new class of French officers, and brought about "the intellectual and moral regeneration of the French Army".[3] His thinking on military doctrine was shaped by the unshakeable belief, uncommon at the time, that "the will to conquer is the first condition of victory." Collections of his lectures, which reintroduced the concept of the offensive to French military theory, were published in the volumes "Des Principes de la Guerre" ("On the Principles of War") in 1903, and "De la Conduite de la Guerre" ("On the Conduct of War") in 1904. Sadly, while Foch advised "qualification and discernment" in military strategy and cautioned that "recklessness in attack could lead to prohibitive losses and ultimate failure,"[4] his concepts, distorted and misunderstood by contemporaries, became associated with the perverse offensive doctrines (l'offensive à outrance) of his successors. To Foch's regret, the cult of the offensive came to dominate military circles, and Foch's books were even cited in the development of Plan XVII, the disastrous French strategy for war with Germany that brought France so close to ruin in 1914. Foch continued his initially slow rise through the ranks, being promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1898. Thereafter, his career accelerated and he returned to command in 1901, when he was posted to a regiment. He was promoted to become a Colonel in 1903, then Brigadier General (Général de Brigade) in 1907, returning to the Staff College as Commandant from 1907–1911. In 1911 he was promoted Major General (Général de Division) and then Lieutenant General (Général de corps d’Armée) in 1913, taking command of XXe Corps at Nancy. Foch and World War I
He was then selected to command the newly formed Ninth Army, which he was to command during the Battle of the Marne and the Race to the Sea. With his Chief of Staff Maxime Weygand, Foch managed to do this while the whole French Army was in full retreat. Only a week after taking command of 9th Army, he was forced to fight a series of defensive actions to prevent a German breakthrough. It was then that he spoke the famous words: "I am hard pressed on my right; my centre is giving way; situation excellent; I am attacking." His counter-attack was an implementation of the theories he had developed during his staff college days and succeeded in stopping the German advance. Foch received further reinforcements from the Fifth Army and, following another attack on his army, counter-attacked again on the Marne. The Germans dug in before eventually retreating. He had been instrumental in stopping the great retreat and stabilising the Allied position. Foch's successes gained him a further promotion, on October 4, when he was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief with responsibility for the Northern Army Group. When the Germans attacked on October 13, they narrowly failed to break through the British and French lines. They tried again at the end of the month during the First Battle of Ypres; this time suffering terrible casualties. Foch had again succeeded in co-ordinating a defence and winning against the odds. In October 1914, he was appointed to joint commander in chief with General Joffre. In 1915, he conducted the Artois Offensive, and, in 1916, the Battle of the Somme. He was strongly criticised for his tactics and the heavy casualties that were suffered by the Allied armies during these battles, and in December 1916 was removed from command, by General Joffre, and sent to command in Italy; Joffre was himself sacked days later. Just a few months later, after the failure of General Nivelle, he was recalled and promoted to Chief of the General Staff under General Petain. On March 26 1918, Foch was appointed Allied Supreme Commander with the title of Généralissime ("supreme General") with the job of co-ordinating the activities of the Allied armies. Despite being surprised by the German offensive on the Chemin des Dames, Foch prevented the advance of the German forces during the great Spring Offensive of 1918 at the Second Battle of Marne in July 1918. On 6 August 1918, Foch was made Marshal of France. Along with the British commander Marshal Haig, Foch planned the Grand Offensive, opening on September 26, 1918, which led to the defeat of Germany. Foch accepted the German surrender in November. On the day of the armistice, he was elected to the Académie des Sciences. Ten days later, he was unanimously elected to the Académie française. Paris Peace ConferenceImage:Tarbes eq foch.jpg The monument to Ferdinand Foch in his native Tarbes. In January 1919, at the Paris Peace Conference Foch presented a memorandum to the Allied plenipotentiaries in which he stated:
In a subsequent memorandum, Foch argued that the Allies should take full advantage of their victory by permanently weakening German power in order to prevent her from threatening France again:
However the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and the American President Wilson objected to the detachment of the Rhineland from Germany, but agreed to Allied military occupation for fifteen years, which Foch thought insufficient to protect France. Foch considered the Treaty of Versailles to be "a capitulation, a treason".[7] As the treaty was being signed Foch said: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for 20 years".[8] Post-war careerImage:Ferdinand foch grabmal.jpg Ferdinand Foch's tomb in Les Invalides Foch was made a British Field Marshal in 1919, and, for his advice during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, as well as his pressure on Germany during the Great Poland Uprising, he was awarded with the title of Marshal of Poland in 1923. Image:FochVictoryMemorialKC.jpg Statue of Foch On November 1, 1921 Foch was in Kansas City to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Liberty Memorial that was being constructed there. Also present that day were Lieutenant General Baron Jacques of Belgium, Admiral David Beatty of Great Britain, General Armando Diaz of Italy and General John J. Pershing of the United States. One of the main speakers was Vice President Calvin Coolidge of the United States. In 1935 bas-reliefs of Foch, Jacques, Diaz and Pershing by sculptor Walker Hancock were added to the memorial. Foch died on March 20th, 1929, and was interred in Les Invalides, next to Napoleon and many other famous French soldiers and officers. Image:Hitler and german-nazi officers staring at french marechal foch statue june25 1940.png.png Hitler (hand on side) staring at Foch's statue before signing the armistice, at Compiègne, France (June 22, 1940) A statue of Foch was set up at the Compiègne Armistice site when the area was converted into a national memorial. This statue was the one item left undisturbed by the Germans following their defeat of France in June, 1940. Following the signing of France's surrender on June 21, the Germans ravaged the area surrounding the railway car in which both the 1918 and 1940 surrenders had taken place. The statue was left standing, to view nothing but a wasteland. A heavy cruiser and an aircraft carrier were named in his honour, as well as an early district of Gdynia, Poland. The latter was, however, renamed by the Communist government after World War II. Nevertheless, one of the major avenues of the town of Bydgoszcz, located in then in the Polish corridor, holds his name -as sign of gratitude for campaigning for Free Poland. A street in Paris is named after him, Avenue Foch, one in Grenoble, Boulevard Marechal Foch, as are Mariscal Foch in Quito, Ecuador and Marshall Foch Street in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.Fochville in South Africa was also named in his honor. A statue of Foch stands near to Victoria Station in London. Writing
Notes
See also
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