Foch, Ferdinand [key], 1851–1929, marshal of France. A professor at the École de Guerre, he later served (1908–11) as director of that institute. In World War I, he was responsible, with General Joffre and General Gallieni, for halting the German advance at the Marne (1914). He participated in the first battle of Ypres (1915) and that of the Somme (1916); after a brief eclipse, he was appointed (1917) chief of the French general staff. In Apr., 1918, Foch assumed the unified command of the British, French, and American armies. In this capacity, he was perhaps more responsible than any other one man for the victory in 1918.
See B. H. L. Hart, Foch, the Man of Orléans (1932); C. Bugnet, Foch Speaks (tr. 1929).
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