Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PRECEPTS AND JUDGMENTS A SKETCH OF THE MILITARY CAREER OF MARSHAL FOCH By Major A. Grasset, Of The French Service Ferdinand Foch was born on the 4th of August, 1851, at Tarbes; his father was at that moment Secretary-General to the Prefecture. He began his schooling in a college of that town, continued it at Rodez, then at Polignan with the Jesuits, and ended at the Jesuit College of St. Michel at Saint-Etienne, where his father had been appointed Treasurer and Paymaster. He was studious and concentrated in his work, and rather more serious than his years might allow for. As he was inclined to physics and history, the Jesuit fathers had determined to send him to the Polytechnic. In 1869 they sent him to Metz, to their celebrated establishment of Saint Clement in that town; and there he passed one year coaching for the examination. The Franco-Prussian war broke out before this year was over, and young Foch, who had every prospect of success in the entrance competition, enlisted as a volunteer; but the armistice came before he had completed his training in depot, and before he could do anything for his country, he witnessed the disaster. His vocation for the B Army was not affected; but he understood now that enthusiasm and faith are not enough to secure victory; that science must be added. And without losing a moment he returned to his work. The College of Saint Clement at Metz was occupied by the German soldiery, who filled its courts and corridors. Nancy, where his entrance examination for the Polytechnic was held, the old capital of Lorraine, was the headquarters of Manteuffel, and the Stanislas Square echoed every evening with the sound of the German marching and with their bugle calls. Every evening, as he came in after the day's examination work, Ferdin...