Sir john french biography

Roberts eventually 20 March sent French with a single cavalry brigade and some guns and Mounted Infantry in a vain attempt to intercept Olivier's column numbering 6,—7, men at Thabanchu. French was summoned to see Roberts 5 Aprilwho told him 5 April that the fighting at Poplar Grove proved that the future lay with Mounted Infantry. French wrote to Colonel Lonsdale Hale, former professor at Staff College 12 Aprilfor speaking out for the idea of cavalry against the "chatter and cackle" of its opponents, quoting the opinion of a German officer that Mounted Infantry were too poor at riding to fight effectively.

French also clashed with Edward Hutton 14 April when he asked for French's cavalry to be used to relieve his mounted infantry on outpost duty. On the march to Pretoria early May French's three brigades made up the left wing of Roberts' main thrust. Other thrusts were by Mahon and Hunter over the Bechuanaland border, by Buller up from Natal and a semi-independent command under Hamilton, which might have been French's had he not been out of favour.

French lost another of his still unacclimatised horses making—on Roberts' orders—a forced march to the Vet River. Botha was now making a stand along the River Zandin front of the Orange Free State's temporary capital at Kroonstad. French was ordered to encircle Botha from the left, accompanied by Hutton's Mounted Infantry, while Broadwood struck from the right.

Roberts over-ruled French's wish to make a wide encirclement and ordered a shallower one—this lost the advantage of surprise, and Botha pulled his forces back so that French ran into strong resistance on 10 May. Roberts now ordered French to pull back and make a deeper encirclement as he had originally proposed, with a view to cutting the railway behind Kroonstad.

However, French's cavalry were now too tired, after an advance of forty miles, to achieve much, and Botha's army escaped. The Times History later praised French's rapidity of movement but criticised him—unfairly in Holmes' view—for failure to concentrate his forces. Roberts halted in Kroonstad to repair the railway and refit between 12 and 22 May.

New horses arrived for French, but a third of them were unfit for action, and French and Hutton were only able to muster 2, effectives. French and Hamilton were now sent to threaten Johannesburg from the left. Roberts entered Johannesburg 31 May and Pretoria 5 Junealthough without pressing Botha to a decisive battle in either case. French correctly dismissed talk of victory as premature, and continued to spend much of his time inspecting remounts—the job of Director of Remounts at Stellenbosch had been sir john french biography to an incompetent and manic depressive officer, who eventually shot himself.

French, leading one of his own brigades in the usual encircling movement, came under heavy fire—a medical major was shot at his side—but held his position despite Roberts' permission to withdraw. In mid-July French operated against de Wet's guerrilla force around Pretoria, although he did not understand that this was an autonomous force, and advised Roberts that the best defence would be to continue to attack Botha's main army.

French was then recalled to take part in another attack on Botha's army, but once again Roberts vetoed French's proposal of a deeper encirclement on the British right this timeallowing Botha's army to escape. French at first asked to be relieved of responsibility for Pole-Carew's sector, but matters were patched up after what French described as a "somewhat stormy" meeting.

By August the Boer forces had been pushed into the northeast Transvaal. French was holding a position beyond Middelburgmaintaining moral ascendancy over the enemy by active probing and patrolling as he had around Colesberg earlier in the year. Roberts' plan was to push slowly eastward along the Delagoa Bay railway connecting Pretoria with the sea, while he ordered French to co-operate with Buller as he marched up from Natal.

French wrote 24 August "We sadly want someone in Chief Command here". Roberts at first refused French permission to concentrate the Cavalry Division for an outflanking move towards Barbertonan important Boer depot, and when he at last gave permission in late August Botha's force had retreated too far to be encircled as French had sir john french biography. Barberton is surrounded by 3, foot mountains, and French once again made a bold encircling move—first 9 September south from the railway to Carolina, deceiving the Boer commandos that he intended to move southwest.

He then moved back, and personally led his 1st Cavalry Brigade up a bridle path through the mountains ready to attack Barberton from the west. As soon as Henry Jenner Scobellwho had been sent around with two squadrons of the Greysheliographed that he had cut the railway, French led his men down into the town. Boer sniping from the hills ceased after French threatened to withdraw his men and shell the town.

French's colonials were sent home and replaced by regular Mounted Infantry. Roberts told French that the Cavalry Division was to be broken up, although he would retain "nominal command", and gave him command of Johannesburg Area. By AprilFrench's eight columns had captured 1, Boers. Milner had already warned French not to treat every Cape Boer as a rebel unless it was proven so.

French, who had lost several friends during the war, believed that stern measures would help end matters more quickly.

Sir john french biography: A soldier from ,

French even forced the inhabitants of Middelburg to watch one hanging, incurring a concerned inquiry from St John Brodrick Secretary of State for War. During this period of the war—conducting "drives" across the country for Boer guerrillas, and eventually dividing up the country with barbed wire and imprisoning Boer civilians in camps—French had to struggle with out-of-date information, and trying to maintain communications between British forces by telegraph, heliograph and dispatch rider.

Gideon Scheepers was captured on 11 October. French had a serious personality clash with the ascetic Kitchenerworsened by both men's obstinacy; French would later have a poor relationship with Kitchener during the First World War. In August Kitchener praised French to the Duke of York later George V and wrote to Roberts that French was "quite first rate, and has the sir john french biography confidence of all serving under him, as well as mine".

Kitchener wrote to Roberts praising French for the capture of Lotter's commando, but by 17 January he wrote to Roberts "French has not done much lately in the colony. I cannot make out why, the country is no doubt difficult but I certainly expected more. Ian Hamilton, now Kitchener's chief of staff, wrote that French was "very much left to his own devices Kitchener later wrote of French "his willingness to accept responsibility, and his bold and sanguine disposition have relieved me from many anxieties".

Roberts now Commander-in-Chief of the Forces ordered French to convene a committee to report on cavalry tactics; French accepted that cavalry should fight dismounted with firearms, but that they needed a better sword. French wrote to thank Roberts, to whose recommendation he guessed — correctly — that he owed the job, but also wrote to Buller, stressing that he had not been offered the position, but had been appointed to it by the King.

The report on cavalry tactics 8 November demanded an effective rifle for cavalry rather than the existing carbine, but only as a "secondary" weapon. Roberts ordered cavalry to give up their steel weapons for the duration of the campaign, over the protests of French. In March French had expected the war to drag on until Septemberbut Kritzinger was captured in mid-November.

French and Lord Kitchener returned to Southampton on 12 July[ ] and received an enthusiastic welcome with thousands of people lining the streets of London for their procession. He also received honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the freedom of a number of cities and livery companies. French was promoted to permanent lieutenant-general for distinguished service in the field on 22 August French was proposed as a potential Chief of Staff in — Esher wrote "he has never failed" while Admiral Fisher —who stressed French's excellent record in South Africa, his skill as a judge of men, and his openness to army-navy operations—wrote "plump for French and efficiency", although Fisher hoped that French would be an ally in opposing Army plans for deploying an expeditionary force to Europe.

French's appointment was—to his relief, as he did not relish having to fight with Arnold-Forster over his mooted reforms—vetoed by the king, who thought him too junior. French had been insisting since January that, irrespective of what reforms the War Secretaries were pushing through, I Corps should be the Army's main strike force with at least one of its divisions kept up to strength for service overseas, and managed to force his view through the Army Council in August He also recognised the importance of howitzers.

He suspected a War Office plot led by the rising staff officers Henry Rawlinson and Henry Wilsonwhom at this stage he distrusted.

Sir john french biography: Mareşal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st

Despite being advised by Esher that this was not a sufficiently serious matter to justify such obstinacy, French got his way December by threatening to appeal to the King. Philpott [ ] discusses French's significant influence on pre-war strategic planning. At one meeting of the CID he became speechless with rage while listening to Lyttelton proposing that Egypt could be defended by warships in the Suez Canal.

On 19 December and 6 Januaryas a result of the First Moroccan CrisisFrench was one of a four-man committee convened by Esher to discuss war planning: the options were purely naval operations, an amphibious landing in the Baltic, or a deployment of an expeditionary force to France. At the second meeting French presented a plan for deployment to France or Belgium ten days after mobilisation, possibly mobilising on French territory to save time.

He also maintained an interest in a possible deployment to Antwerp. French generally had good relation with Haldanethe new Secretary of State for Warbut lobbied him against cutting two Guards battalions the Liberals had been elected on a platform of retrenchment. He had meetings with Grierson throughout March until the Moroccan crisis was resolved.

On this trip he was accused of giving unauthorised interviews to the French press, after uttering what Grierson called "a few platitudes" to the Figaro correspondent. French testified to the Elgin Commission that cavalry should be trained to shoot but that the sword and lance should remain their main weapons. Hutton wrote to French that cavalry should retain some shock capacity but that the real issue was recruiting "professional" officers in place of the present aristocratic ones.

French strongly disagreed, although he remained on friendly terms with Hutton and recognised that the expense of being a cavalry officer deterred many able young men. Haig's heavily traditional "Cavalry Training" appeared inleaning heavily on the Cavalry Drill Book which he had helped French to write, although with a "reforming" preface by Roberts.

In response to a request from Arnold-Forster, French submitted a memorandum 7 March arguing that cavalry still needed to fight the old-fashioned way as a European War would begin with a "great cavalry battle". He also sent a copy to the King. In response to Roberts' claim that he wanted to give cavalry the ability to act independently, French wrote in the margin that the campaigns of early had seen cavalry acting independently, although he replied politely that their differences were not as great as Roberts seemed to think.

Roberts had the support of Kitchener who thought cavalry should be able to seize and hold positions, but not to roam about the battlefield looking for enemy cavalrybut he was away as Commander-in-Chief, India. French's memorandum was supported by Baden-Powell Inspector-General of CavalrySir Francis Grenfell who commented that he had not spoken to any junior officer who agreed with Roberts and by Evelyn Wood.

In Februaryafter Roberts' removal as Commander-in-Chief, the Army Council authorised the publication of Haig's "Cavalry Training" but without Roberts' preface, although the lance was declared abolished as a weapon of war—a decision ignored by French, who allowed his lancer regiments at Aldershot to carry the lance in field training. The first edition of the Cavalry Journal appeared inpromoted by C.

Goldman, an admirer of French. It was put on an official basis in French also claimed that Russian cavalry in the Russo-Japanese War had come off worse as they were too willing to fight dismounted—this was the opposite of the truth. He also noted that infantry lacked a doctrine for the final stages of their attack, as they closed with the enemy—something which was to prove a problem in the middle years of the Great War.

However, in his Inspection Report French again criticised cavalry's sir john french biography dismounted work. Although French believed that the "cavalry spirit" gave them an edge in action, his tendency to identify with his subordinates—in this case the cavalry, whose identity seemed under threat—and to take disagreements personally caused him to be seen as more of a reactionary than was in fact the case.

In the event, cavalry would fight successfully in the "cavalry spirit" helped them to perform well on the Retreat From Monswhile they were still capable of fighting effectively on foot at First Ypres. There was general agreement that the greater size of battlefields would increase the importance of cavalry. The publication of Erskine Childers ' War and the Arme Blanche with a preface by Roberts went some way to reinstating the reformers' case.

Childers argued that there had been only four real cavalry charges in South Africa, inflicting at most casualties by cold steel, but acknowledged that French, "our ablest cavalry officer", disagreed with him. After extensive lobbying by Esherand with the King's support, French was selected as Inspector-General of the Army in November French openly opposed conscription.

In —08 he sat on a CID committee to consider the risk of German invasion—it was decided to retain two divisions at home as a deterrent to invasion, until the Territorial Force was ready. French's reports showed great interest in trenches, machine guns and artillery. He also believed strongly that peacetime drill was necessary to prepare men for combat discipline.

In the winter of —10 he toured British troops in the Far East, and in the summer of he inspected the Canadian Militia. This period also saw the beginning of the feud between French and Smith-Dorrienhis successor at Aldershot. Smith-Dorrien annoyed French by insisting that cavalry improve their musketry, abolishing the pickets which trawled the streets for drunken soldiers, more than doubling the number of playing fields available, cutting down trees, and building new and better barracks.

By the feud was common knowledge throughout the Army. Smith-Dorrien also objected to French's womanising. French spoke to the Navy Club that year on the need for co-operation. On the journey, French talked of how Douglas and Paget would command armies under him in the event of war. Plans for British deployment were especially welcome as French war plans were in a state of flux, with Joffre having been appointed commander-in-chief designate on 28 July.

On presenting him with a signed photograph of himself the Kaiser told him: "You may have seen just how long my sword is: you may find it just as sharp". In January French attended the annual staff conference at Staff College, and was impressed by the quality of the discussion. However, he lectured staff officers that they should not consider themselves the superiors of regimental officers, but that their job was to provide the commander with impartial advice and then endeavour to carry out his wishes.

French was receptive to Wilson's wishes to explore co-operation with Belgium. By Wilson had become French's most trusted adviser. In February Repington wrote a series of articles in The Times demanding conscription for home defence. The conclusions, which were not reached until earlywere that two divisions should be retained at home, reducing the size of the BEF.

French and Roberts had agreed with one another that one division would have sufficed. French's efforts "to get the Army ready for war" were hampered by budgetary constraints, and he was unsuited by temperament or experience for the job. French caused controversy by passing over four generals for promotion in the autumn ofand angered some infantry officers by forcing through the changes to infantry battalions so that they comprised four large companies commanded by majors rather than eight small companies commanded by captains.

French lobbied Seely for an increase in pay and sirs john french biography for officers, to widen the social base from which officers were recruited—this was enacted from 1 January In the summer of French, accompanied by Grierson and Wilson, again visited French manoeuvres in Champagne. This lack of training may well have been factor in his sir john french biography performance in August In his diary Wilson praised "Johnnie French" for "hitting out" at the Royal Navy over their poor transport arrangements, but recorded his concerns at French's lack of intellect and hoped there would not be a war just yet.

With Irish Home Rule about to become law inthe Cabinet were contemplating military action against the Ulster Volunteers UVF who wanted no part of it, and who were seen by many officers as loyal British subjects. In response to the King 's request for his views, French wrote that the army would obey "the absolute commands of the King", but he warned that some might think "that they were best serving their King and country either by refusing to march against the Ulstermen or by openly joining their ranks".

With political negotiations deadlocked and intelligence reports that the Ulster Volunteers nowstrong might be about to seize the ammunition at Carrickfergus CastleFrench only agreed to summon Paget Commander-in-ChiefIreland to London to discuss planned troop movements when Seely Secretary of State for War repeatedly assured him of the accuracy of intelligence that UVF might march on Dublin.

French did not oppose the deployment of troops in principle but told Wilson that the government were "scattering troops all over Ulster as if it were a Pontypool coal strike". French was persuaded by Asquith to send infantry to defend the artillery at Dundalkand by Seely that a unionist coup was imminent in Ulster. The result was the Curragh incident, in which Hubert Gough and other of Paget's officers threatened to resign rather than coerce Ulster.

French, advised by Haldane Lord Chancellor told the King on 22 March that he would resign unless Gough, who had confirmed that he would have obeyed a direct order to move against Ulster, was reinstated. The Cabinet text stated that the Army Council were satisfied that the incident had been a misunderstanding, and that it was "the duty of all soldiers to obey lawful commands", to which Seely added two paragraphs, stating that the Government had the right to use "the forces of the Crown" in Ireland or elsewhere, but had no intention of using force "to crush opposition to the Home Rule Bill".

Asquith publicly repudiated the "peccant paragraphs". Wilson, who hoped to bring down the government, advised French to resign, as an officer could not be seen to break his word, even at the behest of politicians. Asquith at first wanted French to stay on as he had been "so loyal and well-behaved", but then changed his mind despite French drawing up two statements with Haldane, claiming that he had been acting in accordance with Haldane's statement in the House of Lords on 23 March.

Seely also had to resign. French had been made to look naive and overly friendly to the Liberal government. Most officers were Conservative and Ulster Unionist sympathisers, but, with a few exceptions, took pride in their loyalty to the King and professed contempt for party politics. French told Wilson that Asquith had promised him command of the BEF in the event of war, although nobody realised how quickly this would come.

Churchill described him as "a broken-hearted man" when he joined the trial mobilisation of the fleet in mid-July. French was still seen as a potential Commander-in-Chief of the BEF, although even in early August French himself was uncertain that he would be appointed. The "Precautionary Period" for British mobilisation began on 29 July.

French also suggested that the BEF might operate from Antwerp against the German right flank, reflecting French's reluctant acceptance of the continental commitment.

Sir john french biography: Born in Kent, he saw brief

This suggestion was dropped when Churchill said the Royal Navy could not guarantee safe passage. Embarkation began on 9 August. On 12 August, French, MurrayWilson and the French liaison officer Victor Huguet met at French's house and agreed to concentrate at Maubeuge, and after another meeting with Kitchener who had had an argument with Wilson on 9 August—given Wilson's influence over French, this served to worsen relations between French and Kitchenerwho still preferred to concentrate further back at Amiens, they left to obtain the Prime Minister's agreement.

French crossed to France on 14 August. French told Poincare that he would not be ready until 24 August, not 20 August as planned. Previously ardent and bombastic, French became hesitant and cautious, giving different answers about the date when the BEF could be expected to begin operations in the field. If we are beaten we will owe it to you".

Sir john french biography: Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French,

They conferred in private despite the fact that Lanrezac spoke no English and Sir John could speak little French, Wilson being eventually called over to translate. French informed Lanrezac that his forces would not be ready until 24 August, three days later than promised. Sir John, concerned that he had only sir john french biography infantry divisions rather than the planned six, wanted to keep Allenby's cavalry division in reserve and refused Lanrezac's request that he lend it for reconnaissance in front of the French forces.

French and Lanrezac came away from the meeting with a poor relationship. At the time French wrote in his diary that Lanrezac was "a very capable soldier", although he claimed otherwise in his memoirs Besides their mutual dislike he believed Lanrezac was about to take the offensive, whereas Lanrezac had in fact been forbidden by Joffre to fall back and wanted the BEF moved back further to clear roads for a possible French retreat.

Spears arrived at GHQ 21 August and reported to Wilson French was out visiting Allenby that Lanrezac did not want to leave his strong position and "had declaimed at length on the folly of attack". Holmes believes French was receiving very bad advice from Wilson at this time, in spite of good air and cavalry intelligence of strong German forces. French set out for Lanrezac's HQ 22 August but by chance met Spears on the way, who told him that Lanrezac was in no position to attack after losses the previous day at the Battle of Charleroiwhich Sir John did not quite believe and that Lanrezac was out at a forward command post.

Brushing aside Spears' arguments that another meeting with Lanrezac would help, French cancelled his journey and returned to GHQ; "relations with Lanrezac had broken down", writes Holmes, because Sir John saw no point in driving for hours, only to be insulted once again in a language he did not quite understand. French was then visited again over dinner by Spears, who warned him that the BEF was now 9 miles 14 km ahead of the main French line, exposing the BEF to potential encirclement.

Spears was accompanied by George Macdonoghwho had deduced from air reconnaissance that the BEF was facing three German corps, one of which was moving around the BEF left flank. Sir John cancelled the planned advance. French thought Lanrezac's request unrealistic but agreed to hold his current position for another 24 hours. Despite the events of the previous evening, French had—perhaps under the influence of Henry Wilson—reverted to the belief that an advance might again be possible soon.

French's account in his memoirs stated that he had become doubtful of the advance and warned his officers to be ready to attack or retreat, which agrees largely with his own diary at the time, in which he wrote that he had warned Smith-Dorrien that the Mons position might not be tenable. When was published, Smith-Dorrien claimed that French had been "in excellent form" and had still been planning to advance.

However, in his own memoirs, Smith-Dorrien admitted that French had talked of either attacking or retreating, although he claimed that it had been he who had warned that the Mons position was untenable. Edmonds in the Official History agreed that French had probably been prepared either to attack or to retreat. French at first believed that the German attacks at Mons were merely trying to "feel" the British position and drove off to Valenciennes to inspect a French brigade.

On his return he sent a letter to Lanrezac in which he talked of resuming the attack the following day. Wilson had "calculated" that the BEF was faced only by one German corps and a cavalry division, and was allowed to draw up orders for an attack the next day. Although Macdonogh warned that the BEF was faced by at least two German corps, French did not cancel the planned advance until a message from Joffre 7 pm warned that he was faced by at least three German corps, although he still ordered Smith-Dorrien to try to hold his ground.

At midnight Spears arrived with the news, which disgusted Sir John, that Lanrezac was falling back, and the French Third and Fourth Armies were also falling back after being defeated at Virton and Neufchateau. Murray summoned the Corps Chiefs of Staff at around 1 am on 24 August and ordered them to retreat. Sir John French sent a message 24 Augustwith an unmistakable tone of pique, to Lanrezac, which Spears insisted on writing down, warning that the BEF might have to retreat southwest towards Amiens on its lines of communication, although it is unclear that this would actually have been practicable if the Germans had actually been moving in force around the British left flank.

Joffre also sent a further two French reserve divisions to the British left flank, the beginning of the redeployment of French forces which would see Maunoury 's Sixth Army form around Amiens and then fight near Paris. French considered, but rejected, the option of sheltering the BEF in the fortified town of Maubeuge, partly out of instinct that the Germans were hoping to tempt him into allowing himself to be besieged there and partly because he remembered that Edward Hamley had likened Bazaine allowing himself to be besieged in Metz in to a shipwrecked man taking hold of the anchor.

Wilson and Murray were concerned about the risk of encirclement from the left. Sir John did not agree but wanted to fall back as agreed with Joffre, and hoped that the BEF could pull out and refit behind the River Oise. Besides concern for his men, he was also worried that he was exposing his small force to the risk of destruction which Kitchener had forbidden.

Wilson ordered Smith-Dorrien to retreat from Le Cateau the next day. French was awakened at 2 am on 26 August with news that Haig's I Corps was under attack at Landrecies, and ordered Smith-Dorrien to assist him. Smith-Dorrien replied that he was "unable to move a man". French was born on September 28,in Kent, England. He was raised by his older sirs john french biography after his father, a naval officer, died when French was just 2, and his mother was committed to a mental institution a few years later.

Following preparatory school, French attended a naval academy in Portsmouth and joined the Navy as a midshipman in However, he transferred to the Army in after discovering he had a severe fear of heights and began his ascent through the ranks. His rise continued with appointments as inspector-general of the Army, chief of the Imperial General Staff and promotion to field marshal in June Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape "Donate to the archive" User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest.

Sign up Log in. Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. Metropolitan Museum Cleveland Museum of Art. Internet Arcade Console Living Room. Open Library American Libraries. Relieved of his command French served as Commander of the British Home Forces from including responsibility for dealing with the Easter Rising in Ireland inand was subsequently awarded the title of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in Click here to view footage of Sir John French following his appointment in Saturday, 22 August, Michael Duffy.