Ferdinand Foch

At the outbreak of World War I Ferdinand Foch was involved in many early battles, including Nancy and Marne. He had many successes and was placed in charge of the French Northern Army. He held his position until Robert Nivelle replaced Joseph Joffre as Commander-in-Chief, when he was recalled to Army Headquarters. In 1918 he was promoted to Allied Supreme Commander. He was very successful and received credit for masterminding the victory over Germany. He played important roles at the Paris Peace Conference and in the Creation of the Armistice. He wanted to make the recovery of Germany's army impossible. Foch died in 1929.


Foch (fosh), Ferdinand. Generalissimo of the allied armies during World War I. Foch was born at Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrenees, France, of Basque-Alsatian parentage, 1851. He joined the French Army in 1870, and fought in the war against Prussia. In 1898 Foch was appointed lieutenant-colonel and professor of strategy and tactics in the war college. In 1905 he was made regimental commander of artillery, and in 1910 commandant of the war college. In the early stages of the invasion of France in 1914, Foch stopped the great German drive toward Calais, and later won the victories of Ypres and La Bassee. The plan whereby Joffre defeated the German armies in the great battle of the Marne was largely due to Foch, who came to be regarded as the master tactician among the allied commanders. On March 26, 1918, following the gigantic German attacks which drove back the allied line in Picardy, jeopardizing Paris and Calais, Foch was placed in supreme command of the allied armies. Holding the enemy's powerful thrusts to local gains, he organized for the counter-offensive. On July 18, he inflicted a stunning defeat upon the Germans, blocking their fifth great drive of the year, and began a campaign of continuous attack against all the Teutonic allies. Foch's consummate ability as a strategist was shown in an uninterrupted series of victories on all fronts. by well-timed offensives, the military power of Bulgaria, Turkey, and Austria was crushed. Under relentless pressure, the great German army, beaten in every important battle, was practically driven out of France. To escape the impending annihilation of her forces, Germany, on November 11, 1918, signed an armistice, surrendering enormous warsupplies and yielding the military occupation of the Rhine. In recognition of his distinguished services, Foch was created marshal of France.