Foch Ferdinand is one of the most famous French generals. 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 writings are still being studied around the world.
Foch Ferdinand: short biography
Ferdinand was born on October 2, 1851 in Tarbes. His parents were very we althy officials and played an important role in the life of the city. Therefore, Foch received a good education, by the standards of that time. He studied at school, and after graduation he entered the Jesuit College in Saint-Etienne.
In 1869, the reform of the army in the country begins. The government and the emperor understand the danger looming over France because of Prussia and are trying to quickly prepare for a possible war. Foch Ferdinand is drafted into an infantry regiment in which he has served since 1870.
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
Prussia prepared for war in advance and thought through every step. The French emperor was unable to adequately assess the situation and himself fell into the trap arranged by Bismarck. The German army launched an offensive in July. The troops of Prussia and its allied German states were well trained and equipped with the latest types of weapons, while the French army did not have time to properly prepare and, in fact, was taken by surprise.
Already by the fall, German troops laid siege to Paris. Foch Ferdinand fought on the front lines. The balance of forces was approximately the same, but the French army consisted mainly of fighters from the reserve units and a hastily 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 decides 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, without even graduating from the Higher Polytechnic School, Foch received the rank of artillery lieutenant. Serves in the 24th Artillery Regiment.
Four years later he graduated from the Academy at the General Staff. Starts scientific activity. He studies the strategy and tactics of warfare. In 1895 he became a professor and began teaching at the academy, which he graduated from not so long ago. Of particular interest to Ferdinand is the study of the strategy of Napoleon Bonaparte.
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 head of the Academy at the General Staff.
Foch is a researcher in military history and tactics. Two years after receiving a high post, he is sent to the Russian Empire to take part in maneuvers.
In 1912 Foch Ferdinand became the commander of the 8th Army Corps. The memoirs of the marshal of his associates contain information that he was very nervous when taking on a new position. But a year later he was entrusted with a more combat-ready unit - the twentieth army corps.
Beginning of World War I
Ferdinand Foch met the Great War in Nancy. Its fighters almost from the first days took part in the hostilities. The first blow of the German Empire fell on the territory of 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 that's where the German army hit. A group of one and a half million people captured Belgium in a matter of days and advanced towards the French border. If not for the heroic defense of Liege, the Allied armies would simplywould not have had time to relocate from the eastern border. Ferdinand Foch commanded the twentieth army corps. Immediately after the start of the 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, according to the plan of the General Staff, was supposed to increase the morale of the soldiers. And in the beginning, everything went well enough. However, in mid-September, the Germans counterattacked and drove the French back to the border.
State of the army
On the eve of the war in France, there were more and more supporters of the radical reform of the army, among whom was Foch Ferdinand. Professor's quotes were published on the front pages of newspapers. But conservatives did not want to change traditions. The German army was completely rearmed and strategic decisions were made based on the capabilities 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 of life in their units. The most significant point is the use of the old form. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary switched to inconspicuous gray or brown uniforms, while the uniform of the French army included red trousers and blue uniforms. In the early days of the fighting, officers went into battle wearing white gloves and dress uniforms, becoming easy targets in their bright outfits. Therefore, the general began to urgently reform the army.
Army reforms
In all parts, soldiers began to hastily "change clothes", French engineers desperately tried to increasenumber of modern weapons. Already in early September, one of the largest battles of the first year of the war began - the battle of the Marne.
The French strike force was commanded by Foch Ferdinand. The marshal's memories of those events are filled with the atmosphere of disorder and turmoil in which the soldiers were. Due to the lack of means of transportation, taxis were delivered to the battlefield for many soldiers. But this battle allowed to stop the advance of the Germans and start an exhausting trench war, which will end only after four years.
End of War
By the spring of 1918, Marshal Ferdinand Foch was head of the French Armed Forces. It was he who signed the Armistice of Compiègne, which ended the First World War. It happened on the eleventh of November in the carriage of a private train.
After the war, he was engaged in the improvement of military tactics and strategy. Prepared intervention on the territory of Soviet Russia.
On March 20, 1929, Foch Ferdinand died in Paris. A monument to the commander was installed in the Parisian Les Invalides.
