MANGIN

Evening Star, Issue 16823, 27 August 1918, Page 6

MANGIN

THE RISING STAR. A GREAT CAREER. MORE BRITISH GATES. [By Ciuticus ] At tho present moment Die allied leader who is unquestionably most in the public eye is General Mangin. A few words about this general, who, during tho last few weeks, has come to the fore with a giant’s stride, will probably be of interest. General Mangin. like General Retain, General Nivelle, and quite a. number of other leading French generals, first cam© into prominence during the German attack on Verdun. That stupendous blunder on Germany’s part was not only a fortunate thing for tho Allies in itself, but it presented France, or rather placed ill the foremost ranks, a galaxy of military talent of exce-ptional brilliance. But General Mangin was a noted soldier before Verdun, and came of u, family of notable soldiers. Soma details of his family ami career aro given in the French Journal ‘ LTlhmiration.’ Tho general’s elder brother was killed at, Tonkin in 1885 at 27 years of age. already a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor; while a younger brother was killed in Mauritania in 1909, serving under General Goura.ud. Tho general himself, Charles Marie Em,manuel Mangin, entered tho French colonial forces, and, like some others of tho most prominent French leaders, such as Jotlru, Gallieni, Lyaute/,, and Gouraud, tho greater part of Ids military life before the war was spent in colonial campaigns. lie fought in tho French Soudan from October, 1889, to July, 1892; and again from October, 1895, to November, 1894. .He took part in campaigns in the Congo arid on tho Nile from October, 1895, to June, 1899. From -March, 1901, to June, 1904, ho served in Tonkin ; in French Fast Africa and tho Congo from October, 1906, to October, 1910. During the years 1912 and 1915 ho was campaigning in French East Africa and Morocco. He has boon five times wounded, three times at the attack on Dicna, in the Soudan, in February, 1890, once during the attack on Bosee, also in the Soudan, in July, 1892, and once in the combat of Kasbah-Zirlania, in Morocco, during May, 1913. Ho put in enough lighting in these colonial campaigns alone in make a distinguished career, and he was always successful, and noted for his organising powers. His last colonial campaign was when ho led a column to the conquest of Southern Morocco in 19.12-15 —a campaign in which ho displayed his characteristic energy ami judgment, and met with his usual success, entering Marakesh on September t, 1912. General Mangin, as a great colonial fighter and mi'ilary organiser, became imbued with a realisation of the groat addition to her military strength which France might draw from her African possessions, and he published a book entitled ‘Force Noire,’ or ‘Black Force,’ to advocate this view. The work, appeared in 1910, and in it Mangin quoted some words uttered by Prevout-Paradol in 1868 ; “ Franco is approaching the most redoubtable trial that she lias yet experienced. Franco and Prussia have long beau launched, so to .speak, against each other, almost like two railway trains, which, starting from opposite and distant, points, aro switched on to tho same road by a disastrous error.” These words proved as prophetic in 1910 as in 1868. .Mangin added : " Let us prepare,” and he urged that Fran.,, should draw largely upon her rich African reservoir of human resources. Tho war has justified him in many ways, and French colonial troops have played a great part in it. IX FUJIOPM. Mangin was made a brigadier-general on A ugust 8, 1913, and it happened that when the war broke out he commanded the Eighth Brigade, supporting the cavalry of Genera! Ludel. and this led him (o !he extreme, left of the French Fifth Army, in the region of Dimvnt, and as far as Namur. During the retreat, which preceded the battle at tho Marne, he fell back through La Fere. On August 50 tho Third Corps was reorganised at Laon, and one of its two divisions was given to General Petain, the other (the Fifth) being entrusted to tho command of General Mangin. Before the battle of the Marne he galvanised the spirits of his troops by his example, raising their morale to tho highest .pitch, and daring the 'battle lie first broke a. powerful Gorman attack, and then delivered a. vigorous counter-attack, driving back the enemy to the gates of Jtheims. The Germans returned to the attack, ami Mangin’.s division foijght violent battles on Sop ten i her ' 1 at TMllois and Ghampigiiy. The jmiM.h of the, enemy was continued next day, and up to the time, when if was checked on Hie Aisno General .Mangin phix.-d a brilliant part, pushing the enemy steadily back, breaking countei’-atUu'ks, and always getting the best out of Lin rm-n. In December he took over tin- < onncuml of the difficult sector iiom Berry-vu I cc t-o Gramme, and from there lie wen I, later with hks division to take part in Hi'’ struggles on tho famous battlegrounds of Nouvilh. M>. Vaast, tho Labyrinth, ami I’rise. It was at tho end of .March, 1916, that lie arrived at Verdun, (reoerai Nivolln had just taken over the command of file Douauinont-Vaux .actor, the most critical sector of all. Tb' enemy had captured Jkuiauniont and C’aillctte Wood, and already menaced Souvil’e, Xivelle rent Mangin to relako Catileite Wood, and this he sur'c.usi’.l'ullv accomplished. In .May General Xivelle look command of the Army of Verdun, and, needing a diversion to ease the pressure on his left wing at Morfc Homme, ho sent Mangin to make a counter-attack against, Douamnont. Mangin retook the fore, and, although if, was im[Kvsible to hold it, fire attempt servid its purpose as a diversion, and reliever! the left wing. In June Mangin was given the command of an army corps, and received charge of tho famous sector from tho Mouse to Fort, do Tavonne.v whore the enemy’s attacks upon Verdun culminated and were finally -broken. And it was General Mangin who, under General Nivelle, organised and directed the great counter-attack which finally retook Douaumont, Yaux, and most of the other famous points of tho Verdun battlefield, .practically reconstituting the French line as it was before the German attack conunoivcod. W]ien General Xivelle became Connnandcr-in-Ghiof of tho French armies, General Mangin succeeded him in the. chief command at Verdun. lie played a prominent part in checking tho German thrusts for Paris ; but it is from the, commencement of the allied counter-attacks that ho has come most into the limelight. He led tho oonntcrstroko between the, Ai.sue and tho Marno, the success of which paralysed the enemy’s offensive towards Nancy, and finally compelled their retreat. Since then he has proceeded, from quo success to another. Indeed, looking over his career a.s a whole, one is chiefly struck by the uniformity of tho success which has characterised it. THE ALLIED PROGRESS. Tho Germans are, throwing in reinforcements on the Somme battlefronts, and our progress is somewhat, slower. At the moment of writing there are few fresh details over and above what were, received yesterday, either from tho French or tho British fronts. 'l'hero arc reports from both London and. Paris that we have taken Bapanme, but this is not confirmed in Sir Douglas Haig's Latest communique. Still, we are on the outskirts, and its capture should not be long delayed. The most important feature of our recent successes is undoubtedly the capture of part of Thiepval (or Pozieres) Ridge. This is a dominating ridge of high ground, from 492 to 656 feet high, running from Thiepval to the south-east as far as Bazentin lo Grand. It is crossed about the middle by the road from Albert to Hapaume, and as Sir Douglas Haig reports that we have crossed the Albert-Bapaume road along its whole length to the south of 13 apaumo. taking Martinpuich, Le Sars, aud Lo Barque, wo have apparently

captured nearly the whole of it.. Martinpuich lies well to the oast of the road and to the north of ridge ; while Contahnaison, the capture of which was reported yesterday, lies also well to the, east of the road and south of tho ridgo. So if Pozieres is still in the enemy’s hands its position is very salient, and it is in clanger of being surrounded. Tho Australians have carried a position on the high ground to the east of Bray, and Maraetz has been captured. The lastnamed place is four miles east of Albert. Bon don reports that the 'Fourth Army, including the Australians, have captured between tho 18th and 21st of this month 30,000 prisoners and nearly 500 guns; while Paris states that since August 8 over 40,000 prisoners have been captured on the British front. It looks as if, by tbo time tho enemy are pushed back as far as the Hindenburg line, wo shall have put together a bag of prisoners and guns as big as that amassed by tho enemy during tbo open Luff of tho summer’s campaign. They will then have literally nothing to show for their summer’s work except depleted reserves and badlyimpaired morale, the balance of advantage being overwhelmingly with tho Allies. Later cables bring the news of tho capture of Gavrelic, north-east of Anus, and a couple of miles north of the Scarpe. South-east of Arras wo have advanced a couple of miles on a four-milo front, capturing Monchy le ITeux, Gueraappe, and Wancourt, and there are reports that our outposts arc near the outskirts of CToisilics and Bullecourt. A POINT TO REMEMBER.

It will bo wise to correctly interpret tho German retreat, and not to assume that they are being driven back in headlong rent. An Australian Press Association message mentions that “ undoubtedly before- our attacks were launched tbo enemy contemplated a big retirement, but they intended taking their time, and we hustled them, thus preventing them from carrying out their plans.” In short, we. caught them “on the hop.” and so have been enabled to work considerable havoc with their proposed orderly retirement.. It is when tho Jlindenbnrg lino is reached that the real tug-of-war will come, if tho Abies feel disposed to try the, strength of that lino this summer. The enemy cannot voluntarily retire much beyond that line, because to do so would bring the Allies uneomfortably near to the groat iron and coal supplies in the. Briny Valley and Lorraine. They cannot voluntarily abandon the source of something like 80 pur cent; of their iron supplies, and they are bound io defend the II imlenburg line to the Inst. At present wo are about 18 miles from it on the Somme front. It would be doubtful policy to try the strength of it this summer, an, although General March announces that tho United States has 1,500.000 men overseas, ho adds that General Pershing has not yet organised the first American field army. It would be, folly to allow recent successes to lead us into under-estimating Germany’s strength, mid the Hindenburg lino will bo a hard nut to crack. The best time to crack it will he. when America has fully developed her strength. Premature attempts are only likely to result in costly failures.