Foch's Style of Supreme Command

The Three Key Army Commanders with Generalissimo Foch:
Pétain, Haig, Foch, and Pershing

By Kelly A. Grieco

At the moment of supreme crisis in March 1918, the Allies finally adopted some semblance of a unified command, charging Foch with “the coordination of the military operations of the Allied armies on the western front.” Eight days later, the Allies increased his power to include “strategic direction of military operations” and conferred upon him the “all powers necessary to secure [its] effective realization.” In this new role, Foch appreciated better than anyone else that his power to command derived more from persuasion than any formal authority to issue orders. He likened his command to that of the “leader of an orchestra,” explaining, “Here are the English basses, here the American baritones, and there the French tenors. When I raise my baton, every man must play or else he must not come to my concert.”

He exercised his command with a leadership style centered on personal diplomacy, tact, and energetic exhortation. He exuded command presence, consulting in person with commanders to shore up resistance across the front. “He gives the impression of being frank, loyal, and clear-sighted,” observed a captain on the French general staff, “If I had to choose a motto for the general I think this would suit him as well as another: ‘Clear vision.’ ”  In dealing with Allies, Foch sought to influence, if not to command, and used his infectious energy and determination to convince Allied commanders to carry through his vision.

When the Germans launched a second spring offensive in Flanders, Foch provided energy and strategic direction to the Allied defense. Acting through influence rather than coercion, he used his energy and  confidence to fuse the allied armies together and hold the line. In his words, he “pursued” the British in the north and French in the south, to ensure both armies “held, sustained, [and] maintained.” He was open to persuasion, responding to Sir Douglas Haig’s calls for additional reserves, yet never losing sight of his responsibility to consider the Allied position on the Western Front as a whole. Weighing the dangers of a possible third German offensive, he held back some reserves from Flanders, sending to the north only what was absolutely necessary to maintain the integrity of the line. The head of the British Mission with the French Army was duly impressed, confessing, “Thank goodness we have got a central authority to fight the battle as a whole.”

When the time came to pass to the offensive, Foch gave new vigor and direction to the combined attacks that continued until the Armistice was in effect. Even the enemy recognized Foch’s contribution as critical to Allied success in 1918: “The Entente has to thank General Foch for successfully subordinating the divergent interests of the allies to a higher, unified purpose.” If leaders are those who are able to inspire others to achieve a common goal, then Foch was the coalition military leader par excellence.

Source: Selected from "Fighting and Learning in the Great War: Four Lessons in Coalition Warfare," by Kelly A. Grieco, PARAMETERS, Autumn 2018