Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the
Supreme Allied Commander during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First
Marne Marne can refer to:
Places France
*Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine
*Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river
* La Marne, a commune in western France
*Marne, a legislative constituency (France)
Nethe ...
,
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and
Artois
Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
campaigns of 1914–1916, Foch became the Allied Commander-in-Chief in late March 1918 in the face of the all-out
German spring offensive, which pushed the Allies back using fresh soldiers and new tactics that trenches could not withstand. He successfully coordinated the French, British and American efforts into a coherent whole, deftly handling his strategic reserves. He stopped the German offensive and launched a
war-winning counterattack. In November 1918, Marshal Foch accepted the German cessation of hostilities and was present at the
Armistice of 11 November 1918
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...
.
At the outbreak of war in August 1914, Foch's XX Corps participated in the brief
invasion of Germany before retreating in the face of a German counter-attack and successfully blocking the Germans short of
Nancy. Ordered west to defend Paris, Foch's prestige soared as a result of the
victory at the Marne, for which he was widely credited as a chief protagonist while commanding the
French Ninth Army. He was then promoted again to assistant commander-in-chief for the Northern Zone, a role which evolved into command of
Army Group North
Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comma ...
, and in which role he was required to cooperate with the British forces at
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
and the
Somme. At the end of 1916, partly owing to the disappointing results of the latter offensive and partly owing to wartime political rivalries, Foch was transferred to Italy.
[Greenhalgh, 2011] Foch was appointed "
Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies" on 26 March 1918 following being the commander-in-chief of Western Front with the title
Généralissime
''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used.
Usage
The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus m ...
in 1918. He played a decisive role in halting
a renewed German advance on Paris in the
Second Battle of the Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...
, after which he was promoted to
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
. Addington says, "to a large extent the final Allied strategy which won the war on land in Western Europe in 1918 was Foch's alone."
On 11 November 1918, Foch accepted the German request for an armistice. Foch advocated peace terms that would make Germany unable to pose a threat to France ever again. He considered the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
too lenient on Germany.
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
attributed a famous quote about the treaty to Foch: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty years."
Early life
![Tarbes Foch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Tarbes_Foch.JPG)
Ferdinand Foch was born in
Tarbes
Tarbes (; Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. It is the capital of Bigorre and of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It has been a commune since 1790. It was known as ''Turba'' ...
, a municipality in the department of
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...
, in southwestern France, into a devout Catholic family.
His last name reflects the ancestry of his father, a civil servant from
Valentine, a village in
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's ...
, whose lineage may trace back to 16th-century
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
. He attended school in Tarbes,
Rodez
Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...
,
Polignan and at the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in
Saint-Étienne
Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
Saint-Étienne is the t ...
before attending the Jesuit in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
.
His brother, Germain Foch, became a Jesuit priest, which may have hindered Foch's rise in the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
since the Republican government of France was
anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
.
When the
Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, the 19-year-old Foch enlisted in the French
4th Infantry Regiment, which did not take part in combat. He remained in the army after the war. In 1871, he entered the ''
École Polytechnique
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France
* École, Savoi ...
'', choosing the school of
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
. In 1873, he received his
commission as an artillery officer and served as a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
in the
24th Artillery Regiment in Tarbes, despite not having completed his course, because there was a shortage of junior officers. In 1876, he attended the
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
school of Saumur to train as a mounted artillery officer. On 30 September 1878, he became a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and arrived in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
on 24 September 1879 as an assistant in the Central Personnel Service Depot of the artillery.
In 1885 Foch undertook a course at the ''École Supérieure de Guerre'' where he was later an instructor from 1895 to 1901. He was promoted
lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in 1898, and
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in 1903. As a colonel he became regimental commander of the
35th Artillery Regiment (35
e R.A) at Vannes. An extremely short man, Foch was known for his physical strength and his sharp mind who always maintained a highly dignified bearing.
[Winter, Denis ''Haig's Command: A Reassessment'', New York: Viking, 1991 page 275.] Foch was a quiet man, known for saying little and when he did speak, it was a volley of words accompanied by much gesturing of his hands that required some knowledge of him to understand properly.
One of Foch's favorite phrases was "''Pas de protocole!''" as he preferred to be approachable by all officers. Foch's only rigidity was always taking his meals at noon and at 7:30; otherwise, he would work all sorts of irregular hours from dawn until well into the night.
In 1907 Foch was promoted to ''
Général de Brigade
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...
'', and in the same year, he assumed command of the French War College. He held this position until 1911, the year in which he was appointed ''
Général de Division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French (Revolutionary) System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...
''. Foch influenced General
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroupi ...
(Chief of General Staff, 28 July 1911 – 12 December 1916) when he drafted the French plan of campaign (
Plan XVII
Plan XVII () was the name of a "scheme of mobilization and concentration" that was adopted by the French (the peacetime title of the French ) from 1912 to 1914, to be put into effect by the French Army in the event of war between France and Ger ...
) in 1913. In 1913 he took command of
XX Corps at
Nancy, and he had held this appointment for exactly one year when he led XX Corps into battle in August 1914.
Military thought
![Colonel Foch - 35 RA - 1903](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Colonel_Foch_-_35_RA_-_1903.png)
Foch was later acclaimed as "the most original military thinker of his generation". He became known for his critical analyses of the Franco-Prussian and
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
campaigns and of their relevance to military operations in the new twentieth century. His re-examination of France's defeat in 1870 was among the first of its kind. At the college, Foch was a professor of military history, strategy, and general tactics while becoming the French theorist on offensive strategies.
During his time as an instructor, Foch created renewed interest in
French military history
The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas including modern France, Europe, and a variety of regions throughout the world.
According to historian ...
, inspired confidence in a new class of French officers, and brought about "the intellectual and moral regeneration of the French Army".
His thinking on military doctrine was shaped by the
Clausewitzian
Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mos ...
philosophy, then uncommon in France, 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. While Foch advised "qualification and discernment" in military strategy and cautioned that "recklessness in attack could lead to prohibitive losses and ultimate failure", his concepts, distorted and misunderstood by contemporaries, became associated with the extreme offensive doctrines (''l' offensive à outrance'') of his successors. The
cult of the offensive
The cult of the offensive refers to a strategic military dilemma in which leaders believe that offensive advantages are so great that a defending force would have no hope of repelling the attack and therefore choose to attack. It is most often us ...
came to dominate military circles, and Foch's reputation was damaged when his books were cited in the development of the disastrous offensive that brought France close to ruin in August 1914.
Foch was seen as a master of the Napoleonic school of military thought, but he was the only one of the Military College Commandants (Maillard, Langlois, Bonnal) still serving. Their doctrines had been challenged, not only by the German school, but also since about 1911 by a new French school inspired by General Loiseau de Grandmaison, which criticised them as lacking in vigour and offensive spirit and contributing to needless dispersion of force. The French Army fought under the new doctrines, but they failed in the first battles of August 1914, and it remained to be seen whether the Napoleonic doctrine would hold its own, would give way to doctrines evolved during the war, or would incorporate the new moral and technical elements into a new outward form within which the spirit of Napoleon remained unaltered. The war gave an ambiguous answer to these questions, which remains a source of controversy among experts.
World War I
1914
On the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Foch was in command of XX Corps, part of the
Second Army of General
de Castelnau. On 14 August the Corps advanced towards the
Sarrebourg
Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older la, Pons Saravi) is a commune of northeastern France.
In 1895 a Mithraeum was discovered at Sarrebourg at the mouth of the pass leading from the Vosges Mountains.
Geography
Sarrebourg is ...
–
Morhange
Morhange (; german: Mörchingen; Lorraine Franconian ''Märchinge'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
See also
* Communes of the Moselle department
The following is a list of the 725 communes of th ...
line, taking heavy casualties in the
Battle of the Frontiers
The Battle of the Frontiers (, , ) comprised battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The battles resolved the military strategies of the French Chief of Staff ...
. The defeat of the
XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to:
*XV Corps (British India)
* XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I
* 15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I
*XV Royal Bav ...
to its right forced Foch into retreat. Foch acquitted himself well, covering the withdrawal to
Nancy and the Charmes Gap before launching a counter-attack that prevented the Germans from crossing the
River Meurthe.
Foch was then selected to command the newly formed
Ninth Army during the
First Battle of the Marne
The First Battle of the Marne was a battle of the First World War fought from 5 to 12 September 1914. It was fought in a collection of skirmishes around the Marne River Valley. It resulted in an Entente victory against the German armies in the ...
with
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.
Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...
as his chief of staff. Only a week after taking command, with the whole French Army in full retreat, he was forced to fight a series of defensive actions to prevent a German breakthrough. During the advance at the marshes at St.-Gond he is said to have declared: "My centre is yielding. My right is retreating. Situation excellent. I am attacking." These words were seen as a symbol both of Foch's leadership and of French determination to resist the invader at any cost, although there is little evidence that the signal was sent. Accordingly, on 4 October 1914, Ferdinand was made the Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Zone under Joseph Joffre.
Foch's
counterattack
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
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 forces, counter-attacked again on the Marne. The Germans dug in before eventually retreating. On 12 September, Foch regained the Marne at
Châlons and liberated the city. The people of Châlons greeted as a hero the man widely believed to have been instrumental in stopping the
retreat and stabilising the Allied position. Receiving thanks from the
Bishop of Châlons
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
(Joseph-Marie Tissier), Foch piously replied, "''
non nobis
''Non nobis'' is the incipit and conventional title of a short Latin Christian hymn used as a prayer of thanksgiving and expression of humility.
The Latin text is from the Vulgate translation of the Book of Psalms, Psalm 113:9 in Vulgate / Gre ...
, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam''" ("Not unto us, o Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory", Psalm 115:1).
As assistant Commander-in-Chief with responsibility for co-ordinating the activities of the northern French armies and liaising with the British forces; this was a key appointment as the
Race to the Sea
The Race to the Sea (; , ) took place from about 1914 during the First World War, after the Battle of the Frontiers () and the German advance into France. The invasion had been stopped at the First Battle of the Marne and was followed by the ...
was then in progress. General
Joseph Joffre
Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroupi ...
,
Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the French Army, had also wanted to nominate Foch as his successor "in case of accident", to make sure the job would not be given to
Joseph Gallieni
Joseph Simon Gallieni (24 April 1849 – 27 May 1916) was a French soldier, active for most of his career as a military commander and administrator in the French colonies. Gallieni is infamous in Madagascar as the French military leader who e ...
, but the French Government would not agree to this. When the Germans attacked on 13 October, they narrowly failed to break through the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
and French lines. They tried again at the end of the month during the
First Battle of Ypres
The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. Th ...
, this time suffering terrible casualties. Foch had again succeeded in coordinating a defense and winning against the odds.
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Sir John French
Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, (28 September 1852 – 22 May 1925), known as Sir John French from 1901 to 1916, and as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a senior British Army officer. Born in Kent t ...
, C-in-C of the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) had described Foch in August 1914 to
J. E. B. Seely, a liaison officer, as "the sort of man with whom I know I can get on" and later in February 1915 described him to
Lord Selbourne as "the best general in the world". By contrast,
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
William Robertson, another British officer, thought that Foch was "rather a flat-catcher, a mere professor, and very talkative" (28 September 1915).
On 2 December 1914,
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
appointed him an Honorary
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...
.
1915–16
![General Foch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/General_Foch.jpg)
In 1915, his responsibilities by now crystallised in command of the
Northern Army Group
The Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) was a NATO military formation comprising four Western European Army Corps, during the Cold War as part of NATO's forward defence in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Army Group headquarters was established on ...
, he conducted the
Artois Offensive and, in 1916, the French effort at the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
. He was strongly criticised for his tactics and the heavy casualties that were suffered by the
Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
armies during these battles, and in December 1916 was removed from command by Joffre and sent to command Allied units on the
Italian front; Joffre was himself sacked days later.
1917
Just a few months later, after the failure of General
Robert Nivelle
Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in th ...
's
offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
, General
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World ...
, the hero of
Verdun
Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...
, was appointed Chief of the General Staff; Foch hoped to succeed Pétain in command of
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...
, but this job was instead given to General Fayolle. The following month Pétain was appointed C-in-C in place of Nivelle, and Foch was recalled and promoted to chief of the general staff. Like Pétain, Foch favoured only limited attacks (he had told Lieutenant General
Sir Henry Wilson
Field Marshal Sir Henry Hughes Wilson, 1st Baronet, (5 May 1864 – 22 June 1922) was one of the most senior British Army staff officers of the First World War and was briefly an Irish unionist politician.
Wilson served as Commandant of the S ...
, another British Army officer, that the planned
Flanders offensive was "futile, fantastic & dangerous") until the Americans, who had
joined the war in April 1917, were able to send large numbers of troops to France.
Outside of the
Western Front, Foch opposed
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
's plans to send British and French troops to help Italy take
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
, but was open to the suggestion of sending heavy guns. The Anglo-French leadership agreed in early September to send 100 heavy guns to Italy, 50 of them from the French army on the left of Field Marshal
Sir Douglas Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...
, C-in-C of the BEF, rather than the 300 which Lloyd George wanted. As the guns reached Italy,
Cadorna called off
his offensive (21 September).
Until the end of 1916, the French under Joffre had been the dominant allied army; after 1917 this was no longer the case, due to the vast number of casualties France's armies had suffered in the now three and a half-year-old struggle with Germany.
[Woodward, 1998, pp. 187–9]
The
Supreme War Council
The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the US and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian revolution and w ...
was formally established on 7 November 1917, containing the Prime Minister and a Minister from each of the Western Front powers (i.e., excluding Russia), to meet at least once a month. Foch (along with Wilson and Italian general Cadorna) were appointed military representatives, to whom the general staffs of each country were to submit their plans. The French tried to have Foch as representative to increase their control over the Western Front (by contrast Cadorna was disgraced after the recent
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Kobarid or the Battle of Karfreit) was a battle on the Italian front of World War I.
The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central ...
and Wilson, a personal friend of Foch, was deliberately appointed as a rival to General Robertson, the British
Chief of the Imperial General Staff
The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...
, an ally of Haig's, who had recently lost 250,000 men at the battle of Ypres the same year.
Clemenceau was eventually persuaded to appoint Foch's protégé
Weygand instead, although many already suspected that Foch would eventually become the Allied Generalissimo.
Late in 1917 Foch would have liked to have seen Haig replaced as C-in-C of the BEF by
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Herbert Plumer
Field Marshal Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer, (13 March 1857 – 16 July 1932) was a senior British Army officer of the First World War. After commanding V Corps at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, he took command ...
; however, Haig would remain in command of the BEF for the remainder of the war.
1918
In January 1918, in accordance with Lloyd George's wishes, an executive board was set up to control the planned Allied General Reserve, with
Clemenceau's agreement being obtained by having Foch on the board rather than
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.
Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...
. Pétain agreed to release only eight French divisions and made a bilateral agreement with Haig, who was reluctant to release any divisions at all, to assist one another. The situation was worsened by Clemenceau's and Pétain's dislike of Foch. At a Supreme War Council meeting in London (14–15 March), with a German offensive clearly imminent, Foch agreed under protest to shelve the Allied Reserve for the time being.
On the evening of 24 March, after the
German spring offensive was threatening to split apart the British and French forces, Foch telegraphed Wilson (who by now had replaced Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General Staff) "asking what
ethought of situation & we are of one mind that someone must catch a hold or we shall be beaten". Wilson reached France the following lunchtime. Pétain had sent a dozen divisions to plug the gap and it is unclear that a committee would actually have acted any faster during the immediate crisis. At the
Doullens Conference (26 March) and at Beauvais (3 April), Foch was given the job of coordinating the activities of the Allied armies, forming a common reserve and using these divisions to guard the junction of the French and British armies and to plug the potentially fatal gap that would have followed a German breakthrough in the
British Fifth Army
The Fifth Army was a field army of the British Army during World War I that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front between 1916 and 1918. The army originated as the Reserve Corps during the preparations for the Brit ...
sector. At a later conference he was given the title Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies with the title of
Généralissime
''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used.
Usage
The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus m ...
("Supreme General"). In May 1918, in the fifth session of the Supreme War Council, Foch was given authority over the Italian Front.
Foch controlled the
Military Board of Allied Supply The Military Board of Allied Supply (MBAS) was an Allied agency created in 1918 for the coordination of logistical support of the Allied forces on the Western front in World War I. In March 1918 Colonel Charles G. Dawes, the general purchasing agent ...
(MBAS), an Allied agency for the coordination of logistical support of the Allied forces. In March 1918 Colonel
Charles G. Dawes
Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-reci ...
, the general purchasing agent for the
American Expeditionary Forces
The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
(AEF) recommended to his commanding general
John J. Pershing that a new intergovernmental agency was necessary to coordinate transportation and storage of military supplies in France. Pershing took the recommendation to French Premier Georges Clemenceau. The British were hesitant at first but finally the key players were in agreement and the Board was established in May 1918. It involved coordinating the entirely different supply systems for the American, British, and French armies, as well as the Italian and Belgian armies. It started operation from its base in Paris at the end of June. The president of the board was French general Jean-Marie Charles Payot (1868–1931), assisted by an international staff. Board decisions had to be unanimous, and once made were binding on all of the armies. However each army continued to be responsible for its own logistical system and procedures.
Foch was surprised by the German offensive (''
"Bluecher"'') on the
Chemin des Dames
In France, the Chemin des Dames (; literally, the "ladies' path") is part of the route départementale (local road) D18 and runs east and west in the Aisne department, between in the west, the Route Nationale 2 (Laon to Soissons), and in the eas ...
(27 May). Foch believed it was a diversion to draw Allied reserves away from Flanders. This was partly true, although the planned German Flanders Offensive (''"Hagen"'') never took place. The Allied armies under Foch's command ultimately held the advance of the German forces. The celebrated phrase, "I will fight in front of Paris, I will fight in Paris, I will fight behind Paris", attributed both to Foch and Clemenceau, illustrated the Généralissime's resolve to keep the Allied armies intact, even at the risk of losing the capital. The British General
Sir Henry Rawlinson
Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, KLS (5 April 1810 – 5 March 1895) was a British East India Company army officer, politician and Orientalist, sometimes described as the Father of Assyriology. His son, also Henry, was to bec ...
, commanding the
British Fourth Army
The Fourth Army was a field army that formed part of the British Expeditionary Force during the First World War. The Fourth Army was formed on 5 February 1916 under the command of General Sir Henry Rawlinson to carry out the main British contribu ...
, commented after meeting Foch: "I am overjoyed at his methods and far-sighted strategy. I was in close touch with him in 1916. He is a better man now than he was then, for his fiery enthusiasm has been tempered by adversity."
Rawlinson also noted Foch's intense Frenchness: "He knew nothing of Britain. The Rhine was for him a river of life and death."
At the sixth session of the Supreme War Council on 1 June Foch complained that the BEF was still shrinking in size and infuriated Lloyd George by implying that the
British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_es ...
was withholding manpower. At a major Allied conference at Beauvais (7 June)
Lord Milner
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From ...
agreed with Clemenceau that Foch should have the power to order all Allied troops as he saw fit, over the protests of Haig who argued that it would reduce his power to safeguard the interests of the British Army.
The British were disappointed that Foch operated through his own staff rather than through the Permanent Military Representatives at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
, and on 11 July 1918 British ministers resolved to remind Foch that he was an Allied, and not a French, C-in-C.
The Allies (mainly French and the growing
American forces) counterattacked at the
Second Battle of the Marne
The Second Battle of the Marne (french: Seconde Bataille de la Marne) (15 July – 18 July 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First World War. The attack failed wh ...
in July 1918. On 6 August 1918, Foch was made a
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
. Along with the British commander, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, Foch planned the
Grand Offensive
The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Central Powers ...
, opening on 26 September 1918, which led to the defeat of Germany. After the war, he claimed to have defeated Germany by smoking his pipe. An unintended consequence of Foch's appointment was that he sheltered Haig from British political interference.
Before the armistice and after the
Armistice of Villa Giusti
The Armistice of Villa Giusti or Padua ended warfare between Italy and Austria-Hungary on the Italian Front during World War I. The armistice was signed on 3 November 1918 in the Villa Giusti, outside Padua in the Veneto, Northern Italy, a ...
, Foch controlled all the operations against Germany including a planned invasion from Italy into
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
.
Foch accepted the
German cessation of hostilities in November from the German delegate,
Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger (20 September 1875 – 26 August 1921) was a German writer and politician (Centre Party), the minister of Finance from 1919 to 1920.
Prominent in the Catholic Centre Party, he spoke out against World War I from 1917 and as a ...
, at 5:00 a.m. local time. However, he refused to accede to the German negotiators' immediate request to declare a ceasefire or truce so that there would be no more useless waste of lives among the common soldiers. By not declaring a truce even between the signing of the documents for the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
at 5:45 a.m. and its entry into force, "at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month", about 11,000 additional men were needlessly wounded or killed – far more than usual, according to the military statistics.
On the day of the armistice, 11 November 1918, he was elected to the
Académie des Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (French: ''Académie des sciences'') is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research. It was at the ...
. Ten days later, he was unanimously elected to the
Académie française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
. He received many honours and decorations from Allied governments.
Assessments
In the
euphoria of victory Foch was regularly compared to Napoleon and
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
. However, historians took a less favourable view of Foch's talents as commander, particularly as the idea took root that his military doctrines had set the stage for the futile and costly
offensives of 1914 in which French armies suffered devastating losses. Supporters and critics continue to debate Foch's strategy and instincts as a commander, as well as his exact contributions to the Marne "miracle": Foch's counter-attacks at the Marne generally failed, but his sector resisted determined German attacks while holding the pivot on which the neighbouring French and British forces depended in rolling back the German line.
After the reading of the preamble of the
November 1918 armistice, Foch left the
carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
, in a move that was perceived as humiliating by the defeated Germans. In 1940, after the defeat of France by Germany early in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, when
France signed an armistice with Germany,
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, in a calculated gesture of disdain to the French delegates, left the carriage, as Foch had done in 1918.
Foch's pre-war contributions as a military theorist and lecturer have also been recognised, and he has been credited as "the most original and subtle mind in the
French Army
The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
" of the early 20th century.
[Shirer, p. 81]
Paris Peace Conference
In January 1919, at the
Paris Peace Conference Foch presented a
memorandum
A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...
to the Allied
plenipotentiaries
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ' ...
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
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
and the American President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
objected to the detachment of the
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
from Germany so that the balance of power would not be too much in favor of France, but agreed to Allied military occupation for fifteen years, which Foch thought insufficient to protect France.
Foch considered the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
to be "a capitulation, a
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
" because he believed that only permanent occupation of the Rhineland would grant France sufficient security against a revival of German aggression. As the
treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations
An international organization or international o ...
was being signed Foch said: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for 20 years".
Post-war career and legacy
![Marsz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Marsz._Foch_rozmawia_z_gen._Sosnkowskim_%281923%29.jpg)
Foch was made a
British Field Marshal in 1919, and, for his advice during the
Polish–Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921)
* russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
of 1920, as well as his pressure on Germany during the
Greater Poland Uprising, he was awarded the title of
Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies.
History
To ...
in 1923.
On 1 November 1921 Foch was in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
, to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the
Liberty Memorial
The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War ...
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
Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I from November 1917. He ...
of Italy and General
John J. Pershing of the United States. One of the main speakers was Vice President
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
of the United States. The local veteran chosen to present flags to the commanders was a Kansas City haberdasher,
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
, who would later serve as 33rd President of the United States from 1945 to 1953. In 1935 bas-reliefs of Foch, Jacques, Diaz and Pershing by sculptor
Walker Hancock
Walker Kirtland Hancock (June 28, 1901 – December 30, 1998) was an American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial (1950–52) at 30th Street Station in Philadel ...
were added to the memorial.
Foch made a 3000-mile circuit through the
American Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
and industrial cities such as Pittsburgh and then on to Washington, D.C., which included ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery for what was then called Armistice Day. During the tour, he received numerous honorary degrees from American Universities.
Foch died on 20 March 1929. He was buried in
Les Invalides
The Hôtel des Invalides ( en, "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as ...
, next to Napoleon and other famous French soldiers and officers. Initially he was interred in the crypt of the Saint-Louis Church, or . In 1937 his remains were transferred to a monumental tomb sculpted by
Paul Landowski
Paul Maximilien Landowski (1 June 1875 – 31 March 1961) was a French monument sculptor of Polish descent. His best-known work is '' Christ the Redeemer'' in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Biography
Landowski was born in Paris, France, of a Polish re ...
, with inspiration from the 15th-century
Tomb of Philippe Pot
The Tomb of Philippe Pot is a life-sized 15th-century funerary monument commissioned in 1477 by Philippe Pot, some 13 years before his death, to stand over his planned burial place in the chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Cîteaux Abbey, near Di ...
, at the center of the Dome Church's northeastern chapel ().
A statue of Foch was set up at the
Compiègne
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...
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 21 June, 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. The Armistice site was restored by German prisoner-of-war labour following the Second World War, with its memorials and monuments either restored or reassembled.
Military ranks
Honours and decorations
* 6 August 1918:
Marshal of France
Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1 ...
* 19 July 1919 :
Field Marshal of the United Kingdom
* 25 March 1921: Honorary Colonel (the first) of the
Royal 22nd Regiment
, colors = Scarlet with blue facings (full dress and mess dress)
, march = Quick: ''Vive la Canadienne''Slow: ''Marche lente du Royal 22e Régiment: La Prière en famille''
, mascot ...
of the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
* 13 April 1923:
Marshal of Poland
Marshal of Poland ( pl, Marszałek Polski) is the highest rank in the Polish Army. It has been granted to only six officers. At present, Marshal is equivalent to a Field Marshal or General of the Army (OF-10) in other NATO armies.
History
To ...
Honors and awards
![FS Foch Dragon Hammer '92](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/FS_Foch_Dragon_Hammer_%2792.jpg)
A
heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
and an
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
were named in his honor. An early district of
Gdynia
Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and ...
, Poland was also named "Foch" after the Marshal but was renamed by the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government after the Second World War. Nevertheless, one of the major avenues of the town of
Bydgoszcz
Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of the River Vistula with its left-bank tributary, the Brda. With a city population of 339,053 as of December 2021 and an urban agglomeration with more ...
, located then in the
Polish corridor
The Polish Corridor (german: Polnischer Korridor; pl, Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, eastern ...
, holds Foch's name as sign of gratitude for his campaigning for an independent Poland.
Avenue Foch
Avenue Foch () is an avenue in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, named after World War I Marshal Ferdinand Foch in 1929. It is one of the most prestigious streets in Paris, and one of the most expensive addresses in the world, home to ...
, a street in Paris, was named after him. Several other streets have been named in his honor in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Ypres
Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...
,
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
,
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Chrzanów
Chrzanów () is a town in southern Poland with 35,651 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999) and is the seat of Chrzanów County.
History
History to 1809
It is impossible to establish ...
,
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
,
Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
,
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
,
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico
Truth or Consequences (often abbreviated as T or C) is a city in New Mexico, and the county seat of Sierra County. In 2020, the population was 6,052. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names for having chosen to rename itse ...
,
Wynnum
Wynnum is a coastal suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wynnum had a population of 12,915 people. The suburb is a popular destination in Brisbane due to its coastline, jetty and tidal wading pool.
Geography
Wynnu ...
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
,
Mineola, New York
Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village".
...
,
Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...
,
Milltown,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
(now part of Yan'a Road) and Singapore (Foch Road). A city quarter in the former French sector of Berlin is called Cité Foch in his honor. This is where French garrison soldiers were housed while Berlin was divided.
Fochville
Fochville is a farming and mining town located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is part of the Merafong City Local Municipality, which also includes Kokosi, Carletonville and Khutsong.
The area surrounding Fochville contains Sotho or ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
was also named in his honour. A
statue of Foch stands near
Victoria railway station in London. He is the only Frenchman ever to be made an honorary field-marshal by the British. A statue of Foch stands on the Bapaume-Peronne road, near the village of Bouchavesnes, at the point where
Messimy's ''chasseurs'' broke through on 12 September 1916.
General Debeney spoke at the statue's unveiling in 1926, praising Foch's operational concepts of 1918. Foch also has a
grape cultivar
This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...
named after him. In the Belgian city of
Leuven
Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...
, one of the central squares was named after him after the First World War, but it was renamed in 2012.
1
Fochsquare gets new name Mount Foch
Mount Foch is a mountain summit located on the border of Alberta and British Columbia on the Continental Divide. It was named in 1918 after Marshall Ferdinand Foch.
The first ascent of the mountain was made in 1930 by Kate (Katie) Gardiner an ...
in Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
is also named after him. The position of Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford was founded in 1918 shortly after the end of the First World War.
France
* Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
:
::
Knight – 9 July 1892;
::
Officer – 11 July 1908;
::
Commander – 31 December 1913;
::
Grand Officer – 18 September 1914;
::
Grand Cross – 8 October 1915
*
Médaille militaire
The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...
– 21 December 1916
*
Croix de Guerre 1914–1918
Croix (French for "cross") may refer to:
Belgium
* Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut
France
* Croix, Nord, in the Nord department
* Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...
*
Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War
The Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War (french: Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1870–1871) was a French military campaign medal awarded to those who served during the Franco-Prussian War.
The war, declared by Emperor Napoleon ...
*
Officer of the Order of Academic Palms
Foreign decorations
*
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
(United Kingdom)
*
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
(United Kingdom)
*
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
(United Kingdom)
*
Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
The Order of the White Eagle ( pl, Order Orła Białego) is Poland's highest order awarded to both civilians and the military for their merits. It was officially instituted on 1 November 1705 by Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elect ...
(15 April 1923)
*
Grand Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King St ...
(15 April 1923, Poland)
*
Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...
(Poland)
*
Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
*
Grand Cross of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
(Morocco)
*
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
(United States Army)
*
Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer
The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...
(Greece)
*
Order of Lāčplēsis
The Order of Lāčplēsis (also Lāčplēsis Military Order, lv, Lāčplēša Kara ordenis), the first and the highest Latvian military award, was established in 1919 on the initiative of Jānis Balodis, the Commander of the Latvian Army during ...
3rd Class (Latvia)
*
Order of Saint George
The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...
Second Class (''Орден Святого Георгия'', 1916, Russian Empire)
*
Knight Grand Commander (First Class) of the Order of Rama __NOTOC__
The Honourable Order of Rama ( th, เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์อันมีศักดิ์รามาธิบดี; ) was established on 22 July 1918 ( B.E. 2461) by King Rama VI of the Kingdo ...
(''Senangapati'', 16 November 1918, Thailand)
Foch received an honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
from the Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
of Kraków in 1918. By special vote of the board of directors of the Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...
, he became the one millionth knight of that order.[ ]
See also
* Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny (2 February 1889 – 11 January 1952) was a French général d'armée during World War II and the First Indochina War. He was posthumously elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France in 1952.
As ...
* List of French paratrooper units
The history of French Airborne forces, airborne units began in the Interwar period when the French Armed Forces formed specialized 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment, paratroopers units. First formed in the French Air Force, they were rapidly i ...
* Pierre Segretain
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
* Pierre Jeanpierre
Pierre Paul Jeanpierre (14 March 1912 – 29 May 1958) was a senior officer of the Foreign Legion.
He initially served in the French Army and fought during World War II, the First Indochina War, the Suez Crisis and the Algerian War, where he ...
* Marcel Bigeard
Marcel Bigeard (February 14, 1916 – June 18, 2010), personal radio call-sign "Bruno", was a French military officer and politician who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War
The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochi ...
* 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment
* Moroccan Division
* Lafayette Escadrille
The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...
* Russian Expeditionary Force in France
The Russian Expeditionary Force EF(french: Corps Expéditionnaire Russe en France, russian: Экспедиционный корпус Русской армии во Франции и Греции) was a World War I military force sent to France a ...
* Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion
The Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion (RMLE) (french: link=no, Régiment de marche de la Légion étrangère) was a French military unit that fought in World War I and World War II. Initially composed of marching regiments from the 1st Fo ...
* Army Manoeuvres of 1912
* Foch Line
* Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature, a chair at the University of Oxford established in Foch's honour in 1918
* Non-U.S. recipients of U.S. gallantry awards
* List of streets named after Ferdinand Foch
Streets named after Ferdinand Foch can be found in many cities of France and in many other places around the world.
Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) was Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War.
The following is a list of streets ...
References
General references
* ''Les Principes de la guerre. Conférences faites à l'Ecole supérieure de guerre'' (''On the Principles of War''), Berger-Levrault, (1903)
* ''La Conduite de la guerre'' (''On the Conduct of War''), Berger-Levrault, 1905
*
* Porte, Rémy, and F Cochet. ''Ferdinand Foch, 1851–1929: Apprenez À Penser : Actes Du Colloque International, École Militaire, Paris, 6–7 November 2008.'' Paris: Soteca, 2010.
Further reading
* DiDomenico, Joseph J. "Rise and Fall of a Coalition: The Supreme War Council and Marshal Foch, 1917–1919" (US Army School for Advanced Military Studies Fort Leavenworth United States, 2017)
online
* Doughty, Robert A. ''Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War'' (Harvard U.P. 2005)
* Falls. Cyril. ''Marshall Foch'' (1939
online
* Greenhalgh, Elizabeth. ''Foch in Command. The Forging of a First World War General'' (Cambridge University Press, 2011); 550 pp
online review in H-FRANCE
* Greenhalgh, Elizabeth. ''Victory Through Coalition. Britain and France During the First World War'' (2005)
* Greenhalgh, Elizabeth. "General Ferdinand Foch and the French Contribution to the Battle of the Somme". ''British Journal for Military History'' 2.3 (2016)
online
* Greenhalgh, Elizabeth. "General Ferdinand Foch and United Allied Command in 1918". ''Journal of Military History'' 79.4 * Greenhalgh, Elizabeth. "Marshal Ferdinand Foch versus Georges Clemenceau in 1919". ''War in History'' 24.4 (2017): 458–49
online
* Harris, J.P. ''Douglas Haig and the First World War''. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
*
*
* King, Jere Clemens. ''Foch versus Clemenceau'' (Harvard UP, 1960), in 1918–1919
online
* Liddell-Hart, B.H. ''Foch, the Man of Orleans 1914–1924'' (2 vol 1937)
online
* Neiberg, Michael S. ''Foch: Supreme Allied Commander in the Great War'' (Brassey's Inc., 2003), short popular biography
online free to borrow
*
* Singer, Barnett. ''Maxime Weygand: A Biography of the French General in Two World Wars'' (2008); he was Foch's wartime chief of staff.
* Woodward, David R. ''Field Marshal Sir William Robertson'' Westport Connecticut & London: Praeger, 1998,
Notes
External links
*
* ttp://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/foch.htm Biography on FirstWorldWar.com
Foch's Biography in French on the Immortals page of the Académie française
* , by Clara E. Laughlin
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foch, Ferdinand
1851 births
1929 deaths
British field marshals
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
École Polytechnique alumni
French male writers
French military personnel of World War I
French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War
French military writers
Generalissimos
Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Grand Crosses of the Virtuti Militari
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Honorary members of the Order of Merit
Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...
Marshals of France
Marshals of Poland
Members of the Académie Française
Members of the French Academy of Sciences
People from Tarbes
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Recipients of the Order of Lāčplēsis, 3rd class
Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree
20th-century French military personnel
19th-century French military personnel
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)