FRANCE'S MORAL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 698, 6 May 1916, Page 8

FRANCE'S MORAL.

A WONDERFUL QUALITY.! FORTITUDE OF WOMEN. | |By Colonel E. P. Repington. Military ; Eipert of the "London Time*."! "Mon corps a la terrc. i "Mon anie a Dieu. "Mon coeur a la France." These three lines were found by i ithe writer scribbled on the wooden leasing of a bond) proof shelter in a j first line trench in France within pistol shot of the enemy. i They were just the pencilled j thoughts of a poilu, but how rare! 1 How pathetic! How beautiful! J Of all" the truly wonderful things | in this wonderful war most assured-, ily the moral of the French army is j ifhc most wonderful of all. Think of Jit. Twenty months of devastating j 'war; one French woman out of; j every three in mourning; many of the fair departments and the best of i I the French black country in the 'hands of the enemy; no end of the j iwar discernible by the wit of man;j j regiments renewed from top to bot-; I lorn, not once but many times; the; national life suspended; the savings; lof half a century thrown into the J melting pot, and yet here, in close, and deadly conflict with a numerous land still formidable enemy, that in-1 |estimable, that most precious of; j treasures, moral of the army, wholly I untarnished. Moral Ever Rising. } Rather, with each call upon the \ • generous race, the moral rises. To; j the ever-rising demands France re-' i plies with ever-rising spirit. She I has been great before, but never,! I surely, as great as now. J "Rather than accept slavery at j I German hands," said General de I ICastlenau to the writer, "the French ; j race will die upon the battlefield." j And so in very truth it will. In the mighty fires of war this igrand old race has lost all sense of j {self and selfishness. It is absolutely; Junited; it is determined. I If lightness was ever its bane,' there is something to be said for the I lightness which causes spirits to f rise superior to all misfortunes and look fate gaily in the face. In the face of death there is a smile of confidence for the stranger who passes by and a cheery word; and an un-| mistakable sense of superiority to the enemy. The poilu knew before anyone else j that the Rosche was beaten. He j knew it by instinct —byi instinct and by practice of war for more than; ;'2OOO years. The exemplary fortitude of the; women of France, the mothers and | wives; their signal patience andj silence in great sorrow and never- j ceasing anxiety has been the foundation of a great revival. If decora-' ; lions have the charm which some at- j j tribute to them,surely the cross with I the blood-stained laurel wreath has! been deserved by every mother anil j wife of France whose son or hus-j band died in the fighting, and that i [cross, with the dead poilu's casque* j would remain for ages to Come the ' most cherished heirloom of the fam-j ily. lie died, they will say, in the! | great campaign which was fought to* I preserve the honour of France and] the liberties of Europe from German i savagery. j The French Ministry of War has ! surpassed itself in administrative; j capacity. The writer ventured to j congratulate General Roques upon the brilliant achievements of his de-1 partment, proofs of which are manifest in all the armies of France. The effectives are complete, the j depots full, the munitions abundant, ; the equipment strong, the clothing; and casques suitable, the transport I efficiently maintained and the food; good and abundant. The soldier! feels that his wants are attended to.; He has confidence because his com- j pany is at full strength and he can! afford to send two shells in answer; to the German's one. Proved Efficiency. Not the least of the causes of the! poilu's confidence is the proved efficiency of the command and the I staff. The fighting men have come to the front and only the liliest have survived. Joffre, Castlenau, Retain, ! i Foch, Gouraud, Franchct, D'Esperey, i and many more give high distinction ; to the French command, while the!] professional staff is versed in all the i i modern military sciences and affords jt the commanders enlightened sup-h port. i] The minds of the leaders of the j great armies of France are at rest hj because they have taken their j enemy's measure. They know that ; arduous times lie ahead, but in re- ( gard to their own troops they have> no doubt at all. The strong sense! of duty which pervades all ranks, I { the numbers at their disposal, the; t powerful armament and high moral ji of the French troops give a sense of U security which nothing can abate. It is with a feeling of deep admir- j! ation and content that one leaves re-:' gretfully these noble men and with a '(' strong sense that nothing we can do! to aid them must be left undone. \)