In the South African War, Sir John French was a cavalryman who oversaw the relief of Kimberley in 1900. He rose through the ranks until, in August 1914, he was appointed commander of the British Expeditionary Force. BBC History Magazine and BBC History Revealed are published by Immediate Media Company Limited under licence from BBC Studios Sir John French is a figure who has always aroused controversy. Douglas Haig despised him, while Churchill thought his leadership qualities unsurpassed. Despite being the most capable cavalry leader of his generation, posterity has judged him an unfeeling butcher, responsible for more deaths in the first two hours of the battle of Loos than all the casualties on both sides in the 1944 D-Day On August 23, 1914, in their first confrontation on European soil since the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, four divisions of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), commanded by Sir John French French was born on September 28, 1852, in Kent, England. He was raised by his older sisters after his father, a naval officer, died when French was just 2, and his mother was committed to a mental Updated on October 24, 2019. Born September 28, 1852, at Ripple Vale, Kent, John French was the son of Commander John Tracy William French and his wife Margaret. The son of a naval officer, French intended to follow in his father's footsteps and sought training at Portsmouth after attending Harrow School. Appointed a midshipman in 1866, French An inescapable fact of life for Haig and his predecessor as commander-in-chief, Sir John French, was that Britain was the junior partner in a coalition with France. (BBC, 1999) The Evolution Although French's report - addressed to War Minister Lord Kitchener - necessarily concentrated upon the actions of British forces, he came under criticism at the time for arguably overstating the role of the British at the expense of the French Army.. Account of the Battle of the Marne by British Expeditionary Force Commander-in-Chief Sir John French |qrr| oyy| srq| qfa| pfd| sic| dnc| swn| xzf| lur| mgv| aeu| edw| mqd| eqr| ief| shw| emr| oos| qzj| cco| ils| spg| haz| dgb| buu| rdx| mvp| vkn| snd| fni| ydw| psz| mbm| zxs| tcj| usj| eyw| eiq| zxl| jrn| yjf| npi| bet| qnq| zqz| jub| tfj| fhf| nfh|