Ferdinand Foch

He married Julie Bienvenue in 1878.

After his death, his body was buried next to Napoleon and other renowned French soldiers and officers in Les Invalides, France.

To honour his memory, a heavy cruiser and an aircraft carrier are named after him. Moreover, his name is associated with several streets of France. Fochville, a town situated in South Africa, is named after him.

Ferdinand Foch was born in Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrenees, France. He was the son of a civil servant. During his childhood, the story of his maternal grandfather, who was an officer of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, greatly inspired him.

After attending school in Tarbes, Rodez, in Southern France, he took admission at the Jesuit College in St. Etienne. He decided to pursue a military career after getting influenced by the stories of the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, he joined the French 4th Marine Infantry Regiment and decided to remain in the army even after the war.

In 1873, he took admission at the Ecole Polytechnique and became a Lieutenant in the 24th Artillery Regiment, despite not having completed his course due to the shortage of junior officers.

Gradually, he rose to the rank of Captain and attended Staff College in 1885 to receive further military training.

In 1895, he returned back to this college as an instructor whose duty included teaching general tactics. Later, he became a full time professor at the institution. As part of his lectures there, he got recognition for his critical analysis of the Franco-Prussian and Napoleonic campaigns.

In 1898, after getting promotion, he became the Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1901, he was posted to a regiment. In 1903, another promotion made him a Colonel. In the same year, his collection of lectures titled “On the Principles of War” was published.

Under his command, the XX Corps took part in the Battle of the Frontiers as part of the Second Army of General de Castelnau during the Wold War I in 1914. In spite of its noteworthy performance, the French lost the battle.

Next, he took the responsibility to command the Ninth Army during the First battle of the Marne in September 1914. During this battle, he successfully applied a series of defensive actions to prevent the German breakthrough. He regained the Marne on 12 September and liberated the city.

In 1915, he fought the Third Battle of Artois. In the next year, he took command of the French part of the Battle of the Somme. For his military tactics in these two battles, he faced severe criticism and was removed from command in 1916.