“FRENCH REPLIES TO HAIG”

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 May 1936, Page 4

“FRENCH REPLIES TO HAIG”

LIGHT ON CONTROVERSY, Major-General A. C. Temperley, “Daily Telegraph” Military Correspondent, writes: — Another volume dealing with the Haig-French controversy is published: “French Replies to Haig,” by Major the Hon. E. G. French. This is in many ways a sad book. The author deems it his duty to defend his lather’s memory from the accusations contained in Haig’s biography, and particularly in Haig’s Diary, and so the onslaught is continued even beyond the grave. As to the respective merits of the two men Mr George is in no doubt. In the Foreword which he contributes he writes: “On the-matter of Major French’s defence of his father I am not here concerned to pass comments. But I understand and sympathise with his indignation at the attacks upon the late Field Marshal in Haig’s public diaries.

“I knew Lord French well. I valued him highly as a soldier and an administrator. I frequently sought his advice and esteemed his counsel. In my judgment he was a bigger man than his successor.”

They had long been closely associated, and when Haig was French’s Chief of Staff in South Africa they seem to have been the closest of friends. French certainly did his best to advance Haig’s interests. But as the years passed their utterly different temperaments were destined to drive them apart. By August, 1914, Haig recorded in his diaries: “I know in my heart that French is quite unfit for this great command at a time of crisis in our nation’s history.”

He disagred with French at the War Council before the Expeditionary Force left the country. French wrote in his diary:

“Sir Douglas Haig suggested postponing any landing till the campaign had actually opened. . . . Personally, I was opposed to those ideas

All through the advance to Mons and the subsequent retreat there was in Haig’s diaries an undercurrent of criticism and, indeed, of pessimism and lack of confidence in French.

FRICTION BETWEEN GENERALS

The author goes into much detail about the resulting friction. He is particularly concerned to rebut the accusations based, lie conjectures, on Haig’s diaries, that French intended to withdraw completely from the line and retire on St. Nazaire, owing to the shattered condition of his Army. French wrote:

"I assured the French Commander-in-Chief that no serious 1 gap should be made in his line by any premature or hasty retirement. ... I am bound to say that I had to make this decision in the face of the resistance of some of my sulxirdinate commanders, who took a depressed view as to the condition of their troops.”

The question of the handling of the reserves at the Battle of Loos is fully dealt with, and many arguments are produced by the author to justify his lathers retention of them. He quotes French’s diary: I went to see Haig at eleven a.m., and decided to send him the 21st and 24th Divisions to support his attack.” •Major French adds: Doubtless, if Haig had made any allusion to earlier appeals for the reserves, my father would have recorded it. together with his own explanation. I But not a word is to be found.” I Elsewhere he suggests that if they) were late in arriving it was the fault

cl Haig’s staff and not the Comman-der-in-Chief. The official history takes tile opposite view. I It was this incident that provoked i the downtali of French, though his I position had clearly been insecure fori some little time. He may be said to 1 have invited it when he made his calated indiscretion i n disclosing to i Hit I^ epins . t , on the Portage of shells. His son writes in this connection: aetinZ a ° f his unprecedented': action winch required courage andi ievolution of the highest order—quite) tIIG fact that he it meant the end of his career as Com-inander-m-Ghief-the true facts “f he shell scandal’ appeared in “The

j Tinies” of May 15. This exposure was ] followed by the fall of the Liberal i Government. .. . 5’ | The author speaks in no measured | terms of Haig’s disloyalty in writing I privately to Lord Kitchener after Leos, and laying the blame of the | failure upon French.