John French, 1st Earl of Ypres

Field Marshal The Earl of Ypres
Field Marshal The Earl of Ypres
Born	28 September 1852 (1852-09-28) Ripple, Kent, England
Died	22 May 1925 (1925-05-23) (aged 72) Deal Castle, Kent, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1866–1921
Rank	Field-Marshal (1913)
Commands held	1st Army Corps British Expeditionary Force
Battles/wars	Mahdist War Second Boer War World War I Anglo-Irish War
Awards	KCB (1900), KCMG (1902), GCVO (1907), GCB (1909), ADC (1911), OM (1914), KP (1917), PC (1918)

Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG, ADC, PC (28 September 1852 – 22 May 1925), known as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a British and Anglo-Irish officer. He distinguished himself commanding the Cavalry Division during the Second Boer War, became Chief of the Imperial General Staff in 1912 but resigned over the Curragh Mutiny, and then served as the first Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force for the first two years of World War I before becoming Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1918.

Early career

Born the son of Commander John Tracy William French RN (who died in 1854) and Margaret French, née Eccles (who died suffering from insanity in 1867), French was educated at a Harrow preparatory school and Eastman's naval academy at Portsmouth before joining the Royal Navy in 1866.

In 1869 he served as a midshipman on HMS Warrior, where it was discovered that he was acrophobic. After joining the Suffolk Artillery Militia in November 1870, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars on 28 February 1874. He transferred to the 19th Hussars on 11 March 1874, becoming adjutant of his Regiment on 1 June 1880, and, having been promoted to captain on 16 October 1880, became adjutant of the Northumberland Hussars on 1 April 1881. He was promoted to major on 3 April 1883.

French took part in the Sudan expedition to relieve Major General Charles Gordon in 1884 and took part in the Battle of Abu Klea in January 1885. Promoted to lieutenant colonel on 7 February 1885, he became Commanding Officer of the 19th Hussars on 27 September 1888, Assistant Adjutant-General of Cavalry in 1893 and Assistant Adjutant-General at Army Headquarters on 24 August 1895. He went on to be Commander of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade at Canterbury on 1 May 1897 and Commander of the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot Command on 12 January 1899.

He served in the Second Boer War as General Officer Commanding the Cavalry Division from 23 September 1899, leading the Division to success at the Battle of Elandslaagte on 21 October 1899. He also led the Division at the relief of Kimberley on 15 February 1900 and prevented the main Boer field army from escaping across the Modder River at the Battle of Paardeberg later that month. Promoted to the substantive rank of major-general on 9 October 1900 and appointed KCB, he was made Commander of Johannesburg district in November 1900 and Commander of Cape Colony in June 1901. He was appointed KCMG in recognition of his services in South Africa and promoted to lieutenant general for distinguished service in the field on 31 October 1902. Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, referring to French, later said "his willingness to accept responsibility, and his bold and sanguine disposition have relieved me from many anxieties".

Major-General Sir J.D.P. French around the time of the Siege of Kimberley

After the war, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of 1st Army Corps at Aldershot Command from 15 September 1902, and, having been given General Officer Commanding-in-Chief status at Aldershot on 1 June 1905 and promoted to full general on 12 February 1907, he became Inspector-General of the Army on 21 December 1907. He was also appointed GCVO in 1907. Advanced to GCB in the King's Birthday Honours 1909, he was made an Aide-de-Camp General to the King on 19 June 1911.

He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff ('CIGS') on 15 March 1912 and was promoted to field marshal on 3 June 1913. As CIGS he forced through controversial changes to infantry battalions such that they no longer comprised eight small companies commanded by captains but instead comprised four large companies commanded by majors. However following the Curragh Mutiny French chose to initial a document confirming in writing that the Army would not take military action in Ulster. When the Cabinet disowned the document, French chose to resign on 6 April 1914. He was briefly re-appointed Inspector-General of the Army on 1 August 1914.

World War I

French was the natural choice as Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in August 1914.

A man of hot temper, he argued with the Cabinet against Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener and General Sir Douglas Haig that the BEF should be deployed in Belgium, rather than Amiens, where both Haig and Kitchener believed it would be well placed to deliver a vigorous counterattack once the route of German advance was known. Kitchener argued that the placement of the BEF at Mons would result in having to abandon its position and much of its supplies almost immediately, as the Belgian Army would be unable to hold its ground against the Germans; given the solid belief in fortresses at the time, it is not surprising that French and the British cabinet disagreed with Kitchener on this issue.

General French (left) in Paris

The Belgian fortresses at Liege soon fell and most of the remaining Belgian troops were soon besieged in Antwerp, opening up Belgium to the German advance. French, who could not speak French well, had a poor relationship with General Charles Lanrezac, who commanded the French Fifth Army on his right – at an early meeting, asking whether the German advance guards spotted at Huy on the Meuse were crossing the river (a reasonable question, as a German crossing of the Meuse exposed the BEF to encirclement from the west), his inability to pronounce the name "Huy" caused Lanrezac to exclaim in exasperation that the Germans had probably gone there to fish.

After the BEF's first battle at Mons, as Kitchener had predicted, the BEF had to retreat from its position to avoid the danger of being flanked, both from the west and from the east, when the French position on its right failed. During the First Battle of Mons, French issued a series of hasty orders to abandon positions and equipment, which were ignored by his subordinate in charge of the II Corps of the BEF, General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien. Smith-Dorrien's II Corps instead mounted a vigorous defensive action at Le Cateau on 26 August 1914, relieving the pressure and allowing the troops to re-organise, gather up their supplies, and make a fighting withdrawal.

French began a retreat to the Marne which threatened to break the link with the French armies. French's instructions from Kitchener were that he was to cooperate with the French in repelling the German invasion, but not to take orders from them; but also to avoid undue losses or the risk of being attacked. He was increasingly indecisive; and more concerned with preserving his troops—even suggesting removing them behind the Loire or to the Channel Ports—than with aiding the French. Although the French commander-in-chief, Joffre, dealt tactfully with French, at this time Joffre sacked three of his own army commanders (including Lanrezac), ten corps commanders, and thirty-eight divisional commanders, and one historian writes that "one cannot help wonder" whether Sir John would have suffered the same fate had he reported directly to Joffre.

Edward Spears, then a subaltern liaising between Sir John and Lanzerac, later wrote of the former: "You only had to look at him to see that he was a brave, determined man ... I learnt to love and to admire the man who never lost his head, and on whom danger had the effect it has on the wild boar: he would become morose, furious for a time, harsh, but he would face up and never shirk. He knew only one way of dealing with a difficulty, and that was to tackle it ... If he had once lost confidence in a man, justly or unjustly, that man could do no right in his eyes. He was as bad an enemy as he was a good friend ... once he had lost confidence in (Lanzerac) he ignored him and acted as if he and his Army did not exist." Spears also recorded that at a conference with Joffre on 30 August French, the back of his tunic wet with sweat from riding hard to reach the meeting, was "one of the coolest and calmest people at GHQ".

Kitchener travelled to France for an emergency meeting with French on 2 September 1914 to re-organise his thinking and direct him to take part in the counter-offensive at the First Battle of the Marne. French was particularly upset by the fact that Kitchener arrived wearing his field marshal's uniform; he felt Kitchener was implying that he was French's superior and not simply a cabinet member.

French remained in command as major trenching began, and, as the outflanking movements known as the Race to the Sea developed, oversaw the fighting at Ypres in October and November 1914 that destroyed the last of the original BEF. French believed that the war would be over by the summer, as Germany had recently redeployed some divisions to the east, and in January 1915, with the concurrence of senior commanders (e.g. Haig), he asked for Kitchener's New Army volunteers to be incorporated into existing divisions as battalions rather than sent out as entire divisions, and further damaged his relationship with Kitchener by appealing in vain to the Prime Minister, Asquith, over his head.

After the failures at Neuve Chapelle and Aubers Ridge French became involved in the briefing of the press correspondent Repington against Kitchener, on whom the shortage of shells was blamed. After the failed attack at Loos, where New Army divisions first saw action, French was replaced by General Sir Douglas Haig in December 1915.

French returned to England to be appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Home Forces in December 1915, and oversaw the suppression of the Irish uprising in 1916. In January 1916, he was created Viscount French, of Ypres and of High Lake in the County of Roscommon.

At the beginning of the First World War a supporter of French, A.C. Ainger, tried, with little success, to popularise a marching song in honour of French. The words read: "Do you ken John French with his khaki suit His belt and gaiters and stout brown boot Along with his guns and his horse and his foot On the road to Berlin in the morning."

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland

John French, 1st Earl of Ypres c. 1919 by John Singer Sargent

In May 1918, French was appointed British Viceroy, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Supreme Commander of the British Army in Ireland. As Lord Lieutenant he raised the status of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), approved the raising of the Black and Tans and sought the introduction of martial law. His objective was the destruction of Sinn Féin.

French was not popular with nationalist interest groups in Ireland and on 19 December 1919 an assassination attempt was made on him. That day an Irish Republican Army unit which consisted of 11 volunteers, including Seán Treacy, Seamus Robinson, Seán Hogan, Paddy Daly (Leader), Joe Leonard, Martin Savage, and Dan Breen sought to ambush French as he returned from his country residence in Frenchpark, County Roscommon. The volunteers' intelligence operative had informed the unit that French would be travelling in the second car of an armed convoy which would bring him from Ashtown railway station to the Vice-Regal Lodge in Phoenix Park, Dublin. The plan was for Martin Savage, Tom Kehoe, and Dan Breen to push a hay-cart halfway across the road blocking the path of French's car. Their plan was almost foiled, as an RIC officer disturbed them. One of IRA men lobbed a grenade at him, which did not go off but knocked him unconscious. The RIC officer was then dragged from the road. When the convoy appeared minutes later, the IRA unit attacked the second car. However French had actually been in the first car which had already passed. In the ensuing crossfire Dan Breen was shot in the leg, and seconds later Savage fell mortally wounded after being hit by a bullet in the neck, while French safely continued his journey.

French resigned as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland on 30 April 1921 and was replaced by Lord Edmund Talbot, a Catholic who was perceived as likely to be more acceptable to the Irish people.

Later career

French was President of The Ypres League, a veterans society for those who had served at the Ypres Salient. He retired from the British Army in April 1921 and was elevated to the Earldom of Ypres in June 1922.

He was also colonel of the 19th Hussars from 11 March 1902, colonel of the 1st Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment from 22 April 1909 and colonel-in-chief of the Royal Irish Regiment from 26 March 1913.

French died from cancer of the bladder at Deal Castle on 22 May 1925, aged 72. He was buried at Ripple 5 days later. In 1972 the ownership of French's war diaries was disputed following the bankruptcy of the 3rd Earl of Ypres.

Family

In 1875 French married Isabella Soundy. Following a divorce from his first wife he married Eleanora Selby-Lowndes in 1880; they had two sons and two daughters. French's sister was the suffragette and Sinn Féin member Charlotte Despard.

See also

• Army Manoeuvres of 1913
• Christmas truce
• Gheluvelt Park – a public park in Worcester, which he opened on 17 June 1922
• Saint George's Memorial Church, Ypres

Further reading

Books by French

• Report of General Sir John French upon his inspection of the Canadian Military Forces. Ottawa, 1910.
• The despatches of Sir John French: I Mons, II the Marne, III The Aisne, IV Flanders. London: Chapman & Hall, 1914.
• The despatches of Lord French...And a complete list of the officers and men mentioned. London: Chapman & Hall, 1917.
• The German and small nations: an interview with Lord French. London: J J Keliher & Co, 1917.
• 1914. London: Constable & Co, 1919.
• Some war diaries, addresses and correspondence. Ed. Maj The Hon Edward Gerald French (son). London: Herbert Jenkins, 1937.

Other books

• Cassar, George H. The Tragedy of Sir John French. University of Delaware Press, 1985, ISBN 0-87413-241-X.
• Chisholm, Cecil. Sir John French: an authentic biography. London: Herbert Jenkins, 1915. – (Also available from Project Gutenberg)
• Clark, Alan. The Donkeys: a History of the BEF in 1915. Hutchison and Co, 1961. (A scathing attack on the military competence, intelligence, and character of John French.)
• De Groot, Gerard. Douglas Haig 1861–1928. Larkfield, Maidstone: Unwin Hyman, 1988.
• Dodsworth, Francis. Major General J D P French. London: Soldiers of the Queen Library, 1900.
• French, Edward Gerald (son). The Life of Field Marshal Sir John French, First Earl of Ypres. London: Cassell & Co, 1931.
• French, Edward Gerald (son). French replies to Haig. London: Hutchinson & Co, 1936.
• French, Edward Gerald (son). The Kitchener-French dispute: a last word. Glasgow: William Maclellan, 1960.
• Goldman, Charles Sydney (1902). With General French and the cavalry in South Africa. London: Macmillan and co.. http://www.archive.org/details/withgeneralfren00goldgoog. 
• Heathcote, Tony. The British Field Marshals 1736–1997, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 1999, ISBN 0-85052-696-5
• Holmes, Richard. The Little Field Marshal: A Life of Sir John French. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004, ISBN 0-297-84614-0 – (A well-received modern biography).
• Jerrold, Walter Copeland. Field Marshal Sir John French: the story of his life and battles. London: W A Hammond, 1915.
• Maydon, John George. French's Cavalry campaign in South Africa. London: C A Pearson, 1901.
• Napier, Robert M. Sir John French and Sir John Jellicoe: their lives and careers. London: Patriotic Publishing Co, 1914.
• Neillands, Robin. The Death of Glory: the Western Front 1915. London: John Murray, 2006, ISBN 978-0719562457.
• Rae, Archibald. General French and Admiral Jellicoe. London: Collins, 1914.
• Spears, Sir Edward (1930 (reprinted 1999)). Liaison 1914. London: Eyre & Spottiswood. ISBN 0 304 352284. 
• Tuchman, Barbara. The Guns of August. Random House, 1962. (A history of the first month of World War I; Sir John French is depicted as being incompetent, in a panic, and in continual retreat.)
• Wallace, Richard Horatio Edgar. Field Marshal Sir John French and his campaign. London: George Newnes, 1914.
• Wallace, Richard Horatio Edgar. The standard history of the war, comprising the official despatches from General French and staff, with descriptive narrative. 4 vols. London: George Newnes, 1914–1915.
• Wells, John (1987). The immortal Warrior Britain’s first and last battleship. Kenneth Mason. p. 148. ISBN 0859373339. 

French in popular culture

• Field Marshal French was played by Laurence Olivier in Richard Attenborough's World War I satire film Oh! What A Lovely War (1969).

External links

• National Portrait Gallery

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Redvers Buller	GOC-in-C Aldershot Command 1902–1907	Succeeded by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Preceded by The Duke of Connaught	Inspector-General of the Forces 1907–1912	Succeeded by Sir Charles Douglas As Inspector-General of Home Forces
Preceded by Sir William Nicholson	Chief of the Imperial General Staff 1912–1914	Succeeded by Sir Charles Douglas
New title Start of World War I	Commander of the British Expeditionary Force 1914–1915	Succeeded by Sir Douglas Haig
Political offices
Preceded by The Lord Wimborne	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1918–1921	Succeeded by The Viscount Fitzalan of Derwent
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Earl of Ypres 1922–1925	Succeeded by John French
	Viscount French 1916–1925