Preface

Summary

Preface

This study of the command of the French First World War general, Ferdinand Foch, who became supreme Allied commander in 1918 and was raised to the dignity of Marshal of France, has been long in the writing. Hence the list of debts incurred is correspondingly lengthy. First, however, some housekeeping.

For clarity I have italicised enemy units such as armies and divisions, and have used Allied (capitalised) to indicate the Entente Allies: principally, Britain, France, Italy and Russia. Although the USA became an associated, not an Allied, power when they joined the war in 1917, I have included the USA among the ‘Allies’ so as to avoid tedious repetition of ‘Allied and associated countries’. I have preferred ‘British’ to ‘English’ when translating from French documents (and all translations aremy own unless otherwise stated).