[222] He retired from the British Army in April 1921 and was elevated to the Earldom of Ypres in June 1922. French sent Captain Freddy Guest to complain to the Prime Minister, who refused to believe it, and both Asquith and Churchill wrote French reassuring letters. He may have been acting in the belief that the matter needed to be resolved quickly after learning from Haig that afternoon that all the officers of Aldershot Command would resign if Gough were punished. I learnt to love and to admire the man who never lost his head, and on whom danger had the effect it has on the wild boar: he would become morose, furious for a time, harsh, but he would face up and never shirk. He was energetic about inspecting defences, and appealed to Asquith to obtain the services of Arthur Paget and Bruce Hamilton. The following month, the Germans began the Second Battle of Ypres which saw them take and inflict substantial losses but fail to capture the town. French himself believed that Kitchener's departure on a tour of the Mediterranean would save him. [56] French resigned on 6 April 1914. Battle of Loos In May 1918 French was appointed Lord Lieutenant in Ireland. He also noted (diary, 29 July) that the French were annoyed at British strikes and failure to bring in conscription, and might make a separate peace if Britain did not pull her weight, and may also have agreed to the attack because he had learned that his own job was under threat. At a meeting on 21 October Joffre refused ("his face instantly became quite square") to lend him enough men to construct a fortified camp around Boulogne; Joffre instead ordered a French corps (under d'Urbal, whom French was pleased to find was "the old Murat type of beau sabreur") to the BEF's left, and French ordered the BEF to hold its positions. “You can’t go on preaching there. He joined the navy in 1866, but transferred to the army in 1874. I was dumbfounded but “El ... ... never another voyage for me after Raleigh’s...nor was there ever another Sir Walter. At midnight Spears arrived with the news, which disgusted Sir John, that Lanrezac was falling back, and the French Third and Fourth Armies were also falling back after being defeated at Virton and Neufchateau. Huguet recorded that Kitchener was "calm, balanced, reflective" whilst Sir John was "sour, impetuous, with congested face, sullen and ill-tempered". Apart from this, the French high command was singularly lacking in ideas to break the deadlock of trench warfare. [169], Haig discovered (14 July) that the King had lost confidence in French, and discussed the matter with Kitchener. On 31 August the BEF engaged in only a few minor cavalry skirmishes. [4] Neither his second wife, nor his daughter Essex who died in 1979, were ever aware of his first marriage. This angered French as he was, at that time, fond of Haig. On his return he sent a letter to Lanrezac in which he talked of resuming the attack the following day. Armenian Genocide Spears also recorded that at a conference with Joffre on 30 August 1914 French, the back of his tunic wet with sweat from riding hard to reach the meeting, was "one of the coolest and calmest people at GHQ". Joffre wrote a letter of complaint (19 February) that the BEF might not be carrying out Sir John's promise to take over more line; in reply French summoned the liaison officer Victor Huguet to complain of Joffre's claims that the British had demanded French participation in the offensive and that they had more men per mile of trench than the French did (much of the French front, as Sir John pointed out, required smaller garrisons as it was of less tactical importance or rougher terrain). [42] He also ensured that cavalry were still trained to fight with sword and lance (the "Arme Blanche") rather than only being trained to fight dismounted with firearms, as Roberts had preferred.
[69] Embarkation began on 9 August. Haig visited de Maud'huy (28 February) and learned that he would be lending only limited artillery support to Haig's offensive. [149], French was rebuked by the King for an interview with the Havas News Agency (24 March), in which he had warned that the war would be long (Northcliffe warned him that this would encourage "slackers" at home). This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Some ground was gained (1,000 yards over a 3,000 front) and the Germans had to rush in reserves. Sir John also sent a message to Lanrezac at 5am, asking him to assist Haig (on Smith-Dorrien's right), which he agreed to do, although in the event his help was not needed. [177], GHQ suggested that according to Haking's own report the reserves had been held up by "avoidable delay" and pointed out the futility of "pushing reserves through a narrow gap".
Omissions? [1], He married Eleanora Selby-Lowndes – one of seven sisters known as the "Belles of Bletchley" – in 1880; they had two sons and two daughters. Louis Barthas and friends are being kept on high alert to go into the attack at a moment’s notice. When the War of Independence started in 1919, he was soon disabused of the notion he could ever live peacefully in Ireland. I’ve had her for fifteen years. [135], In late November and early December the Germans moved forces to the East, and French expected the Russians to defeat them soon. Many of the leaders would still have been in jail at the time of the British general election in December 1918. In May 1918 he again suggested to Wilson (now CIGS) that Haig be appointed his successor as Commander-in-Chief Home Forces. The British Empire force outside Kut-al-Amara prepares for another day of battle at Es Sinn. French was particularly disturbed at the lack of company commanders, and extremely reluctant to send trained officers and NCOs home to train the New Armies. Haig (and Foch) wanted the reserves close to hand to exploit a breakthrough on the first day; French agreed to deploy them closer to the front but still thought they should be committed on the second day (Haig wrote (diary 2 October) "It seems impossible to discuss military problems with an unreasoning brain of this kind"). He re-launched his career and reclaimed his place as a leading light during the run-up to the Boer War. French was cheered onto the boat home by an escort of 19th Hussars. Holmes concludes by quoting Churchill's verdict that "French, in the sacred fire of leadership, was unsurpassed". However, scandal forced him out of India, and French was sent home to England on half-pay, a situation that was henceforth referred to as “French Leave”. Insisting that the exhausted Murray not be woken, French telegraphed back that he still wanted Smith-Dorrien to "make every endeavour" to fall back but that he had "a free hand as to the method", which Smith-Dorrien took as permission to make a stand. The burial at Ripple was conducted as a private service. The Daily Telegraph is republishing its archives from the war day-by-day. [40][237], Field Marshal Chetwode, reflecting on the hostility between Haig and his former patron French, wrote that "French was a man who loved life, laughter and women … a man who might have done big things in open warfare. [144], At the War Council (9 February) French learned that the regular 29th Division was to be sent to Salonika rather than to France as he had been promised. Support the blog!
On Bertie's advice Kitchener dropped his intention of inspecting the BEF. The French cavalry under Sordet, which Sir John had previously asked Joffre in vain to be placed under his command, were further north trying to maintain contact with the Belgians. French's family was related to the French/De Freyne family which had substantial estates in Ireland. French also suggested that the BEF might operate from Antwerp against the German right flank, similar to schemes which had been floated in 1905-6 and reflecting French's reluctant acceptance of the continental commitment. A door clanged with a terrible crash: I was in John’s cell.
Funding for USA.gov and content contributors is made possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002. Joffre also sent a further two French reserve divisions to the British left flank, the beginning of the redeployment of French forces which would see Manoury's Sixth Army form around Paris. This was a final indignity. If he had once lost confidence in a man, justly or unjustly, that man could do no right in his eyes. Insight came too late for French and he was removed as lord lieutenant in April 1921. GHQ moved back to Compiegne on 28 August, although Sir John was able to visit his troops on the march for the first time since the 25th, telling men who were resting on the ground of Joffre's message. [168], Kitchener also opposed a major British offensive (Calais Conference, 6 July). [26] After Elandslaagte and Lombard's Kop (30 October 1900) caricatures of French appeared in the "Illustrated London News" and he became a press hero.[27]. It’s quite a wide, flat area with steep drops on either side, about 500 yards or so, more than enough to comfortably contain two front-line trench systems….
Although Macdonogh warned that the BEF was faced by at least two German corps, French did not cancel the planned advance until a message from Joffre (7pm) warned that he was faced by at least three German corps, although he still ordered Smith-Dorrien to try to hold his ground. [86] French himself issued no direct written orders between 11.15pm on 21 August and 8.25pm on 24 August; Terraine argued that this, along with his absence during the battle of Mons (although on the German side von Kluck also played little direct role in the battle), marks the point when he and GHQ began to disengage from active command of the BEF, leaving Smith-Dorrien and Haig in effective control of their corps. Born September 28, 1852, at Ripple Vale, Kent, John French was the son of Commander John Tracy William French and his wife Margaret. That evening French was summoned to an emergency meeting at 10 Downing Street (he was requested to come in via the garden, not the front door) with Asquith, Seely, Churchill (First Lord of the Admiralty), Birrell (Chief Secretary for Ireland) and Paget, where he was told that Carson, who had stormed out of a Commons debate, was expected to declare a provisional government in Ulster. [223] He was Colonel of the Irish Guards from June 1916. "[245], Field Marshal French was played by Laurence Olivier in Richard Attenborough's World War I satire film Oh!
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