Ferdinand Jean Marie Foch was a French military leader, known for his decisive contribution into Antanta victory during the World War I.
Background
Ferdinand Foch was born on October 2, 1851, at Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. He was the son of a civil servant. During his childhood, the story of his maternal grandfather, who was an officer of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, greatly inspired him.
Education
After attending school in Tarbes, Rodez, in Southern France, he took admission at the Jesuit College in St. Etienne.
Career
He decided to pursue a military career after getting influenced by the stories of the Napoleonic Wars.
In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, he joined the French 4th Marine Infantry Regiment and decided to remain in the army even after the war.
In 1873, he took admission at the Ecole Polytechnique and became a Lieutenant in the 24th Artillery Regiment, despite not having completed his course due to the shortage of junior officers.
By 1894 Foch had become lieutenant colonel and professor of strategy and tactics in the École Supérieure de Guerre (War School). His lectures were published in two volumes: De la conduite de la guerre (1897; Precepts and Judgments) and Des principes de la guerre (1899; Principles of War). Foch's doctrine of massive attack attracted much attention. He stressed both philosophical and material aspects of war and emphasized the importance of morale and the will to win. In 1900 Foch was transferred to regimental command and then to staff duty with the V Corps. In 1907 Premier Georges Clemenceau appointed him general and director of the War School, where he remained for 4 years.
At the beginning of World War I, Foch was in charge of the XX Army Corps and fought in Lorraine. Next he commanded the newly formed 9th Army and helped check the Germans in the first Battle of the Marne. Gen. Joffre then entrusted him with coordinating troops and operations in the north during the "race to the sea" from the Oise River to the Flemish coast. As commander of the Group of Armies of the North for 2 years, Foch presided over the Artois offensives of 1915 and the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The disappointing results of the Somme offensive led to replacement of both Foch and Joffre. After a brief interval Foch was appointed chief of the general staff by Gen. Pétain.
In the spring of 1918, when the Allies were threatened by the German grand offensive, Foch became chief commander of all Allied armies in France. He halted the Germans and launched a counteroffensive which drove them back and ended the war. On November 11, 1918, Foch induced the German representatives to accept his armistice terms, including occupation of the left bank of the Rhine.
In 1919, he became a British Field Marshal.
Ferdinand Foch died on March 20, 1929, his body was buried next to Napoleon and other renowned French soldiers and officers in Les Invalides, France.
Quotations:
"The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire."
"The power to command has never meant the power to remain mysterious."
"A battle won is a battle which we will not acknowledge to be lost."
"The will to conquer is the first condition of victory."
Membership
Acclaimed by the world after the war, Foch became a member of the French Academy and the Academy of Sciences.
Personality
An extremely short man, Ferdinand Foch was known for his physical strength and his sharp mind who always maintained a highly dignified bearing. 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.
Connections
On November 5, 1883, Ferdinand Foch married Julie Anne Ursule Foch (Bienvenüe), they had four children.