About this time he paid a visit to Germany, then at peace and professing a warm affection for England. One result of this visit was a letter which showed him possessed with wonderful powers of a.n.a.lysis and foresight. He practically predicted the war that was to come. He summed up his observations in a long letter to a friend which, in the light of events of the War, is little short of uncanny. It gave the German plan with a mastery of detail, shrewd prophecy, and earnest warning. The future commander-in-chief of the British armies in France was convinced of the certainty of the conflict and besought the authorities to make better preparation--but his warnings fell upon deaf ears.
It required thirteen years to demonstrate the truth of Haig"s predictions, and then the blow fell. The Kaiser viewed his strong hosts and boasted that he would soon wipe out England"s "contemptible little army." He very nearly did so, and would certainly have succeeded, had it not been for the fighting spirit of such men as Haig.
During the intervening years since the South African campaign he had risen by fairly rapid stages to Inspector-General of the Cavalry in India--a situation which he handled with great skill for three years--then Major General, and Lieutenant General.
At the outbreak of the World War, he was hurriedly sent to France, under the command of Sir John French, his old leader in Africa. French was generosity itself in his praise of Haig in these early days of disaster.
In the retreat from Mons it was "the skilful manner in which Sir Douglas Haig extricated his corps from an exceptionally difficult position in the darkness of the night," that won his laudation. At the Aisne, on September 14, 1914, "the action of the First Corps on this day, under the direction and command of Sir Douglas Haig, was of so skilful, bold, and decisive a character, that he gained positions which alone have enabled me to maintain my position for more than three weeks of very severe fighting on the north bank of the river."
In the first battle of Ypres, the chief honors of victory were again awarded to him:
"Throughout this trying period, Sir Douglas Haig, aided by his divisional commanders and his brigade commanders, held the line with marvelous tenacity and undaunted courage."
Again and again, the generous French pays tribute to his friend, which while deserved reflects no less honor upon the speaker. He was big enough to share honor.
It is not strange, therefore, when French was superseded, for strategic reasons, that Haig should have been given the chief command. The appointment, however, left most of the world frankly amazed. Haig had come forward so quietly that few save those in official circles knew anything about him. It was nevertheless but a matter of weeks, possibly days, before a quiet confidence born of the man himself was manifest everywhere.
One war correspondent who visited headquarters in the midst of the War"s turmoil, thus describes his visit:
"The environment of the Commander-in-chief is strongly suggestive of his conduct of the war. Before war became a thing of precise science, the headquarters of an army head seethed with all the picturesque details so common to pictures of martial life. Couriers mounted on foam-flecked horses dashed to and fro. The air was vibrant with action; the fate of battle showed on the face of the humblest orderly.
But today "G. H. Q."--as headquarters are familiarly known--are totally different. Although army units have risen from thousands to millions of men, and fields of operations stretch from sea to sea, and more ammunition is expended in a single engagement than was employed in entire wars of other days, absolute serenity prevails. It is only when your imagination conjures up the picture of flame and fury that lies beyond the horizon line that you get a thrill.
"An occasional motorcar driven by a soldier-chauffeur chugs up the gravel road to the chateau and from it emerge earnest-faced officers whose visits are usually brief. Neither time nor words are wasted when myriad lives hang in the balance and an empire is at stake. Inside and out there is an atmosphere of quiet confidence, born of un.o.btrusive efficiency."
The same writer on meeting Haig says: "I found myself in a presence that, even without the slightest clue to its profession, would have unconsciously impressed itself as military. Dignity, distinction, and a gracious reserve mingle in his bearing. I have rarely seen a masculine face so handsome and yet so strong. His hair and mustache are fair, and his clear, almost steely-blue eyes search you, but not unkindly. His chest is broad and deep, yet scarcely broad enough for the rows of service and order ribbons that plant a ma.s.s of color against the background of khaki. . . .
"Into every detail of daily life at General Headquarters the Commander"s character is impressed. After lunch, for example, he spends an hour alone, and in this period of meditation the whole fateful panorama of the war pa.s.ses before him. When it is over the wires splutter and the fierce life of the coming night--the Army does not begin to fight until most people go to sleep--is ordained.
"This finished, the brief period of respite begins. Rain or shine, his favorite horse is brought up to the door, and he goes for a ride, usually accompanied by one or two young staff-officers. I have seen Sir Douglas Haig galloping along those smooth French roads, head up, eyes ahead--a memorable figure of grace and motion. He rides like those latter-day centaurs--the Australian ranger and the American cowboy. He seems part of his horse."
Such was the man who did his full share in turning the German tide.
Throughout the four long years of war, he faced the enemy with a calm courage which if it ever wavered gave no outward sign. And that is one reason why the Little Contemptibles grew and grew until they became a mighty barrier stretching across the pathway of the invader from sea to sea, and saying with their Allies:
"You shall not pa.s.s!"
IMPORTANT DATES IN HAIG"S LIFE
1861. June 19. Douglas Haig born.
1880. Entered Brasenose College, Oxford.
1885. Joined 7th Hussars, British army.
1898. Served in Soudan, mentioned in despatches, and brevetted major.
1899. Served in South Africa. D. A. A. G. for cavalry; then staff officer to General French.
1901. Lieutenant-colonel commanding 17th Lancers.
1903. Inspector-general, cavalry, India.
1904. Major-general.
1910. Lieutenant-general.
1914. General, commanding First Army in France.
1915. Commander-in-chief of British forces.
1917. Field marshal.
1919. Created an earl.
1928. January 30. Died in England.
JOFFRE
THE COOPER"S SON WHO REMADE THE ARMIES OF FRANCE
"Let"s name him Joseph," said Gilles Joffre to his wife, as they viewed their first child with much pride.
"That doesn"t seem to be enough," responded Mme. Joffre. So unusual a baby deserved better treatment, she thought.
"Then how about Joseph Jacques? That"s a good, sensible sounding name."
"That sounds well," she admitted, "but still it lacks something. I"ll tell you. Let"s call him Joseph Jacques Cesaire."
"Sounds like a soldier," said the father.
"Well, who knows? Perhaps he will be a general some day," Mme. Joffre replied.
So the infant who lay quietly blinking on his natal day, January 12, 1852, was to be known as Joseph to his friends; but tucked away in his name for future reference was Cesaire--as the French folk p.r.o.nounced the name of the great Roman conqueror.
Truly there was nothing very auspicious in the start of Joseph Joffre.
His father was merely a cooper in a straggling hillside town of the Pyrenees in Southern France, Rivesaltas--but he was a good cooper. His neighbors had a saying that is preserved to this day: "Barrels as good as those made by old Gilles Joffre."
The town itself had some six thousand inhabitants, and was situated on the River Agly, about nine miles from the city of Perpignan. The Joffre home was a very plain and humble dwelling set alongside of the cooper shop, and neither better nor worse than its neighbors--but the well-to-do workman of today would turn up his nose at it. Nevertheless in this home were born eleven children, the oldest of whom was the future Marshal of France. And the father continued to live there for thirty years or more.
It is related of him that even as a baby Joseph never cried, but endured his various troubles with silent stoicism. As he grew older, this trait of silence became ingrown; it was alluded to as "Joffre"s taciturnity."
But as a matter of fact the gift of silence in him as both boy and man did not indicate a sullen or unfriendly disposition. It was merely that he had his head in the clouds. He made a life job of _thinking_--like the seated statue by Rodin.
As one result of this trait, little is reported concerning his childhood.
No anecdotes are related of him at all, except one doubtful story about a fight which he had with a schoolmate. The latter wanted him to stop and take part in some game. Joffre replied that he didn"t have time. The other fellow came back with a taunt--and then Joseph "waded in."
He did not have any chums for the same reason, lack of time, and doubtless he missed a great deal out of boyhood from this fact. It is said that in the study hall he would erect a great pile of books between himself and the next boy, so as not to be disturbed. Yet he didn"t shine particularly as a student. He was simply busy--thinking.
It was not until he was sent to college at Perpignan, that he really began to take an interest in books, and his favorites were the more solid studies--algebra, descriptive geometry, surveying, and draftsmanship.
His bent even at this early day seemed to be civil engineering.
The ambition of every middle-cla.s.s French home, in those days, was to send a son to the army--have him study to become an officer. Mamma Joffre had not forgotten the Caesar in her oldest son"s name; and in a family conclave it was decided that he should be sent to Paris, to try for the entrance examinations in the ecole Polytechnique.
Gilles Joffre accompanied his son to the capital, and left him in a private school. Like his son, the cooper was a man of few words; but what he must have done at parting was to clap the boy on the shoulder, and say: "Now, go to it!"
Joseph Joffre did. When he returned to his boyhood"s home, only four years later, he was wearing the shoulder straps of a lieutenant, and had seen active service. But this is getting ahead of our story.
There was really nothing else for him to do but to "go to it" here in Paris. He was a big, hulking lad of fifteen, with a bullet head set upon a thick neck and broad shoulders--an awkward figure dressed in ill-fitting clothes. All his life Joffre paid little attention to dress.
Here at the awkward age he looked out of place with the well-dressed city boys. They tried to have fun at his expense, but he withdrew into his sh.e.l.l more than ever, and they soon learned to let him alone.