i6 
LAND ct WATER 
February i, iot? 
«;o thai ho has hall Iho qnahtics of our race. Joftrc is 
Calalan • that proiul-and inrtepcndont people inhabitinp; 
lioth sides of the Pvrcnccs ; with it goes a strain of 
Picardy— a great-grandfather, probably endowed with 
cold northern shrewdness. 
And yet, strange as it mav appear, both are from the 
South:" ]offre from the eastern edge of the P\Tenees, 
Xivellc from the Correze— not the extreme ^outh, 
but south enough to make him count with the groiip ot 
Hicessful generals who hail from th-- Midi, such as 
C.aliic'ni, Pan, Castelnau, Fodi, Sarrail. and Roques. 
A Daring Achievement 
The Marshal, whose experience is now at the service of 
the War Board, was, of course, alreadv in command of the 
army when war broke out. Differently placed, however, 
wasNi\elle, who won his promotion on the Hold of battle. 
Before N'erdun came to crown his reputation as a 
tactician and as a strategist, his finest feat proved his 
daring and his contempt of danger : the true spirit of the 
offensi\e. It was on the Aisne. The Inench were 
heavily attacked at the moment of crossing the river, 
and were driven back in some disorder. Nuelle, who 
Avas at the head of the Fifth I^egiment of Artillery, whicli 
was operating with the 7th Armv Corps, flung himself 
with his guns in front of the retreating infantry and 
stopped the rout. 
His success at Verdun on three different occasions 
re\-eals the same ardent temper. Rumour says that the 
Commander-in-Chief was awav from duty, suffering from 
the effects of a motor mishap. Nivelle, in .something 
of the Nelson spirit when he failed to read the unfavour- 
able signal, considered the moment good for trymg 
something new. He broke through the (lerman hues 
with startling speed. Mr. L. ]. Maxse in the ^c^llonal 
Review calls Verdun "a portent." It is. Moreover, 
I am not wrong in saving that General Xivellc believes 
he can drive the Germans from France. Such con- 
viction is of immense importance, because it is notorious 
that many of the old counsellors of Joffre were pessi- 
mistic on this subject. 
Again, the French arc an impressionable people, 
strung and strained bv the terrific experiences of, nearl\ 
thirtv months of war. just as Nivelle electrified the 
Sevcntli Armv Corps at tjie Aisne battle by his reckless 
disregard of danger in using his " seventy-fives " as it 
they were " mitrailleuses," so he has electrified the 
nation by the ease with which he has won back all that 
the Gennans struggled so hard and so ponderously to 
obtain during eight months. The army has forgotten 
its weariness" and the deadly ding-dong of the daily sacri- 
fice in this new flush of victory. A whisper, telling the 
secret of a new resolution, has circulated through France, 
heartening the population, rbcreating the blood and sinews 
of tired men, sending a new thrill of expectancy into 
hearts made sick with waiting or desolated with mourning. 
And so the dawn of ior7 is tinged with a golden hop(> 
for our Allies. 
They have taken the measure of the Germans ; they 
no longer fear them. " You know you are better than 
the Germans," .said General Nivelle to his troops, after 
one of his successes ; " those who say the contrary tell 
a lie." That is so palpably true that the whole countr\- 
^•ibrates with it. , ^ 
Thus Nivelle's appeal differs from that of Joffre s. 
He is the apostle of a divine discontent against the slow 
. snakiness of the war, a synthesis of energy ancl action, 
whilst Joffre represents the rock-like personality, un- 
moved by storm, the man who, by his calmness and 
])rescicnce, sa\-ed France from irretrievable disaster. 
Both men are the outcome of their epoch. 
^•erdun is more than a militarv portent ; it has changed 
the policy of France. Not unnaturally Parliament 
reflected on the effects of sharp action as against 
corro.sion. It saw how successful action was, and how 
inexpensive when conducted by such masters of scienti- 
fic war as Generals Nivelle and Mangin. And so deputies 
were all for the forward policy. And with that quickness 
ot thought and decision which is sometimes the seed 
of violent mistakes, but at others the most precious 
of virtues, public opinion insisted on a change of methods 
all round. The old headquarters at Chantilly were 
given up- Parliamenf took n riiore difccf hand in the 
game, and to G'enVral Nivelle, young for his sixty years 
was given) tliM f^porliinity of redeeming his promise, 
made in effect at Verdun, of liberating the soil from the 
invader. 
Nivelle's appeal, 1 liave said, is of a different order 
from Joffre's ; so is his record. lie has all the accomplish- 
ments of his metier. A perfect horseman, he won prizes 
at the Paris horse show. His love of thoroughness led 
him to Saumur, tlie cavalry school, as well as to St. Cyr, 
the 1-Yencli Sandhurst, and the Pol\-technique was his 
.Vhna Mater, a> it was Joffre's and Petain's and CasteJ- 
iiau's. 
Some day, there will be written an article to bring out 
tlie \alue of education in war. ^^ ar is a great searcher of 
the soul, a test of personal aims and culture. It is 
significant that every leader who has distinguished him- 
self during this incredible struggle has exceptional 
intellectual " baggage." Castelnau and Foch are par- 
ticularly known for their predominance in military theory, 
and the latter is a learned writer on tactics. The super- 
iority of the French staff springs from the same cause ; 
intensive preparation at the receptive age, continuous 
and strenuous application to nullify the harmful effects 
of routine and a set system. 
If Joffre stands for the friendliness of French disciphne, 
nicely adjusted to the French conceptions of liberty 
and equality, Nivelle rules by virtue of his prestige. 
His rapid rise to fame fascinates his countrymen who have 
never lost their love of a gallant and, purely military 
figure. He appeals to their romantic side. If they look 
affectionately towards the paternal Marshal who stootL 
them in supreme stead at the critical hour, they 
acknowledge that they arc " epnleii." bv tlic new 
Commander-in-Chief. 
T!ie C<>mmittee of the National Kgg Collection for the 
Wounded iia\-c received j)crmission to hold a street collection 
in London on Wednesday, 14th instant, to assist the funds. 
The support of all classes is invited to makV- tlic day a great 
success. All who can possibly help are earnestly requested 
to give their services and should immediately get in touch 
with the Organiser at 154, Meet Street, E.C. " 
The soldier's journal, which devotes itself to some par- 
ticular unit or maybe to a military hospital, has become a 
recognised feature of the war and has re\'caled an extra- 
ordinary amount of talent, literary and artistic. No better 
illustration.of this truth can be cited than the Christmas number 
of The Vic's Patrol, the active service journal of the Victoria 
Rifles of Canada. The Trench edition would make its readers 
belie^'e that war is a blithe and gladsome thing, were it 
not that on the cover appears this verse of Kipling:—. 
] have written a tale of our life 
I'or a sheltered people's mirtli, 
In jesting guise- but ye are vise 
Anrl ye know what the jest is worth. , 
But the sheltered people also know nowadays and they 
bow the head in reverence to those brave souls who can jest 
so lightly and happily in the face of death and perils without 
number. "' Thank Allah for a sense of Imniour," writes one 
contributor, and we do thank Allah, for the humour that 
can produce a delightful journal of this nature with such 
subject-matter to draw on, seeing that this fine spirit exalts 
a man \ery near to the everlasting gates. 
NINETEENTH CENTURY 
AND AFTER 
" l> it Peace, Jehu " IKBIU ARY, 
<1) No Peace without Victory. By Cihrles E. MALLEr (formerly Financial 
,«;-<Tit,irv t., \\:t Wiir Oflisfl). 
(2) Some Perils ot Peace. By Hie Kight Itcv. the Lor.D EienDP OP 
f »i;ri--i.i:. 
The Great Naval Blockade. - By .Tons I.ctland. 
Tile Passing of the Cabinet. Bv Sir Fn ixeis PlfiGori (late Chief Jnstice of 
France and the Rhine Frontier. Dj ,T. HO'UXD ROSE, T.itt.P. 
Oan/ig: Poland's Outlet to the Sea. Ity I,. I!. Namirk. 
"Sons Camaradee " in a War Zone Cantins. tiv Sir l'K\NK llESSOv. 
Diet .nnd Debt. )!v the Kigtlt Hon. tlio 'Eai-.I, of DrsluVES, K.P. 
The Liquor Traffic in War. Cy Dr. ARTHI R SlIADWti.r.. 
inilia's Eltort : is .1 sulTioisntly under>to«d? ' By ■^, VCSI F .\i.I. 
Life affer Death : 
(t) Communication with th'! Dead: a Reply to Sir Herbert Stephen. Hy 
Ml- (IMVI K i.ir!ir,l , 1 ,l;.S. 
(2) Future Life and Lives, r,v A. I'. Sl.svcTT. 
The Nr.tional Gallery Bill, and Sir Hugh Lane's Beauest; Bv. D. 3. MACCoi.r.. 
Towards Industrial Efficiency. Hv i:. Sehbohm ROWNTREE. 
Industrial Fa'igue. ' llv e. K. OGBUX. 
The War Poetry of Women. 75y LiLIAS RowLAN'O BROWN (Rowland Grey). 
Migration and tile Dominions: Suggestions for the Imperial War Conference, 
lU Sir ClEMFSI KINLOCir-COOKE. M.P. 
Compulsory Service in Australia. I'.y liic Uon. C. C. Wade. ICC. M.L.A. 
ii>rm<il> I'riino Minirter <:i Xcw .S( utli W.ilesi. 
T/inilon: Spottiswcrd'^. B.ill.intyne & Co.. Ltd., 1, Xcw-.^trfft ,°nniire. 
