GENERAL FOCH.

The resolve of the Allies to put General Foch in virtual command of the Italian front, to attempt to recoup the disaster when opportunity offers, will do much to cause confidence in the eventual outcome of that struggle. No soldier in France has more carefully mastered the theory of war nor more brilliantly carried it to execution; wherever he has been he has achieved triumph, by studying not only the physical factors before him, but also the morale of his troops. On three occasions in particular has he achieved decisive success. The first was the Battle of la Fere Champenoise, in the centre of front on the Marne, where against overwhelming odds he rearranged his front, cutting into the flank of his opponents and provoking the general retreat that carried back the Germans to the line of the Aisne; the second occurred at the first battle of Ypres, where he coordinated the movements of several French and British armies, and held back the enemy on the Flanders front; the third occasion was the battle of the Somme. But not alone his record inspires confidence; the opinions of other great men should be given weight. And it should never be forgotten that Joffre, that infallible judge of soldiers, once declared that "the greatest strategist in Europe is Foch."