BRILLIANT CAREER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23661, 21 May 1940, Page 7

BRILLIANT CAREER

EX-CAVALRY OFFICER ASSOCIATION WITH FOCH ADMINISTRATIVE ABILITY Well known for his conviction that France can defend herself only by attacking, and that the Rhine is the only frontier to be entertained, General Weygand has had an exceptionally brilliant and colourful career. It has contained only one disappointment, now at the age of 73 to be overcome, for hitherto he has never had the qualification of command in the face of the enemy that would entitle him to the dignity and baton of a Marshal of France. Active Soldiering A Belgian by birth, and a devout Catholic, his fortunes have been those of France ever since he attended the Military Academy of Saint-Cyr as a young man and qualified for a French cavalry commission. Since then the most striking thing about his career has been that, although all the brilliance of the latter part of it was founded upon his loyal and devoted association with Marshal Foch as Chief of Staff, it was not toward success an a staff officer that his early ambitions were directed. Indeed, he deliberately abstained from passing through tlio Ecole do Guerre in order to concentrate on active soldiering, and even preferred to take a post as a cavalry instructor at Saumur as his first appointment. He iias been heard since then to confess that he might have niade more of his career if ho had not given so much time to horsemanship, although his success has been outstanding. Nominated by Jofire He was a lieutenant-colonel ,of hussars at the outbreak of the last war, and Foch did not then know of him. It was Joffre who actually nominated him as Foch's Chief of Staff and from that time on his career closely followed that of the great marshal. Weygand was the ideal staff officer, possessing not only an amazing memory and mastery of detail, but great strength of character and initiative. In a most effective way he crystallised the directions given him, interpreting orders of the day into definite and detailed instructions, under which vast numbers of men and a great weight of armament were moved smoothly into battle as Foch required them. He became Foch's shadow and there were those who said that Foch finally eyed him askance because of the constant whispers that it was Weygand who was really the brains of the partnership. But it was not until 1920 that Weygand left his chief, and then only because he had been lent to the Polish Government to assist in military organisation that enabled a successful resistance to be made to the Bolshevik invasion. Success in Syria He continued to accumulate prestige. In 1923 he was given the political and administrative appointment of High Commissioner, in Syria, where he was notably successful. He was, however, relieved of his post when there was a change, in the Parliamentary majority the following year. The reason was that Weygand had not succeeded without making enemies. He has been credited by the extreme Left with a readiness to lend the Army., in a case of national emergency, to the support of anti-democratic causes. His fiercest critics have said that he would like to restore the Monarchy. The Maginot Line

Weygand did not remain long in obscurity. At the end of 1924 he was appointed director of advanced military studies and six years later lie was promoted Chief of General Staff. Nine years ago, on the retirement of Marshal Petain, he was appointed vicepresident of the Supreme War Council, which automatically carries with it the post of Commander-in-Chief on mobilisation. In 1932 he became head of the combined land, air and sea forces, and it was during his term in this office that the Maginot Line completed.

In 1935 he retired from the post and was succeeded by Marshal Gamelin. However, when war broke out last September, Weygand came out of retirement and went to the Near East as commander of the Allied Forces there, one of his qualifications for this, and also for his new task, being his reputation for complete understanding of the English character. t

TRIBUTE TO FINLAND TRADE UNION LEADER "DAY GF HEROES" CELEBRATED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright British Wireless LONDON, May 19 A message to Finland from Sir Walter Citrine, president of the International Federation of Trade Unions, was broadcast in Finnish in the news bulletin of the British Broadcasting Corporation this evening, on the occasion of the new Finnish national, festival, "The Day of Heroes." Sir Walter Citrine, who led the British Labour delegation to Finland during the Russo-Finnish war, said: "The Finnish people's fortitude and courage in ' the days when they faced the aggressor will remain with us as an unforgettable memory. "Since you made your brave stand against the might of the foe, other small nations have been overwhelmed, but your struggle and theirs is ours, too, .ay,d" your example is our strongest inspiration. "To-day the united strength of the Allied forces is at this hour engaged in a gigantic battle to stem the advance of an aggressor Power. We are gathering all our resources to bring to a standstill the deadly attack of the Nazi mechanised force and to continue "the war with our utmost strength until that Power is overthrown and until the nations it has ravaged are once more free." GREATER OUTPUT URGED LONDON. May 19 The Minister of Labour, Mr. Ernest Bovin, in a speech urged every worker, man and woman, to give a bigger output and not await for regulations, but begin now. "We can, and, I believe, gill win quickly*" he declared*