Foch Ferdinand is one of the most famous French commanders. He took part in two wars. Empires collapsed around Ferdinand, revolutions took place, millions died.
In addition to success on the battlefield, the marshal made a serious contribution to the development of military affairs. His works are still being studied in the world.
Foch Ferdinand: A Short Biography
Ferdinand was born on October 2, 1851 in Tarbes. His parents were very wealthy officials and played an important role in the life of the city. Therefore, Foch received a good, by the standards of the time, education. He attended school, and after graduation, he entered the Jesuit College in Saint-Etienne.
In 1869, army reform began in the country. The government and the emperor understand the danger looming over France over Prussia and are trying to quickly prepare for a possible war. Foch Ferdinand is called up to the infantry regiment, where he has been serving since 1870.
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
Prussia prepared for war in advance and thought through every step. The French emperor was not able to adequately assess the situation and fell into the trap set up by Bismarck himself. The German army launched an offensive in July. The troops of Prussia and the allied German states were well trained and equipped with the latest types of weapons, while the French army did not have time to prepare properly and, in fact, was taken by surprise.
By autumn, German troops besieged Paris. Foch Ferdinand fought on the front line. The balance of power was about the same, but the French army consisted mainly of reserve troops and whipped up the recruited militia. Therefore, the superiority of the regular German army was obvious. And in 1871, Napoleon the Third signed a shameful surrender, according to which France was obliged to pay huge indemnities to Prussia.
Scientific activity
After the war, Foch Ferdinand decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, but to pursue a military career. At the age of twenty he enters the Higher Polytechnic School. However, Ferdinand failed to finish it. In 1873, the army of the French Republic experienced an acute shortage of personnel. Therefore, even without graduating from the Higher Polytechnic School, Foch receives the rank of artillery lieutenant. He serves in the 24th artillery regiment.
Four years later, graduates from the Academy under the General Staff. Starts scientific activity. He studies the strategy and tactics of warfare. In 1895 he became a professor and began to teach at the academy, which he had not so long ago graduated from. Of particular interest to Ferdinand is the study of Napoleon Bonaparte's strategy.
He will improve the tactics of warfare taking into account modern methods of warfare. He continues to analyze in detail the decisive battles of the Franco-Prussian War, in which he himself took part. In 1908 he became the head of the Academy under the General Staff.
Foch is engaged in research in the field of military history and tactics. Two years after receiving a high post, he was sent to the Russian Empire to take part in maneuvers.
In 1912, Foch Ferdinand became commander of the eighth army corps. Memories of the marshal of his associates contain information that he was very nervous when entering into a new position. But a year later they entrust him with a more combat-ready formation - the twentieth army corps.
The beginning of the First World
Ferdinand Foch met the great war in Nancy. His fighters almost from the first days took part in the hostilities. The first blow of the German Empire came in Belgium. Initially, the country declared its neutrality, but the French assumed that it was through Belgium that the invasion would begin. Ferdinand Foch has repeatedly pointed out the weakness of the Franco-Belgian border.
And it was there that the German army hit. In a matter of days, the 1.5 million group captured Belgium and advanced to the French border. If it were not for the heroic defense of Liege, the Allied armies simply would not have time to redeploy from the eastern border. Ferdinand Foch commanded the Twentieth Army Corps. Immediately after the outbreak of war, his fighters invaded the territory of Lorraine. This area was taken from France as a result of the Franco-Prussian war. And its at least partial capture, as conceived by the General Staff, was to increase the morale of the soldiers. And in the beginning everything turned out quite favorably. However, in mid-September, the Germans counterattacked and threw the French back to the border.
Army condition
Even on the eve of the war in France, more and more supporters of radical reform of the army appeared, among whom was Foch Ferdinand. Quotes of the professor were published on the front pages of newspapers. But conservatives did not want to change traditions. The German army was completely rearmament and strategic decisions were made, starting from the possibilities of new weapons.
France still underestimated the power of artillery. The forts were outdated, and the generals did not want to change the usual way in their units. The most significant point is the use of the old form. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary switched to an inconspicuous gray or brown uniform, while the uniform of the French army included red pants and blue uniforms. In the early days of the battle, the officers went into battle, wearing white gloves and a dress uniform, becoming light targets in their colorful outfits. Therefore, the general began urgent reform of the army.
Army Reforms
In all parts, soldiers began to "dress up" in a hurry, French engineers desperately tried to increase the number of modern weapons. Already in early September, one of the largest battles of the first year of the war began - the battle on the Marne.
The shock group of the French was commanded by Foch Ferdinand. The Marshal's recollection of those events was filled with the atmosphere of disorder and turmoil in which the soldiers were. Due to the lack of means of transportation for many soldiers, taxis were delivered to the battlefield. But this battle made it possible to stop the advance of the Germans and start an exhausting positional war, which would end in only four years.
End of war
By the spring of 1918, Marshal Ferdinand Foch was the head of the French Armed Forces. It was he who signed the Compiegne truce, which put an end to the First World War. It happened on the eleventh of November in the car of a personal train.
After the war, he worked on improving military tactics and strategy. He prepared an intervention on the territory of Soviet Russia.
On March 20th, 1929, Foch Ferdinand died in Paris. The monument to the commander is installed in the Paris House of the Disabled.