"
In the first battle of Ypres, the chief honors of victory were again
awarded to him:
"Throughout this trying period, Sir Douglas Haig, aided by his
divisional commanders and his brigade commanders, held the line with
marvelous tenacity and undaunted courage."
Again and again, the generous French pays tribute to his friend, which
while deserved reflects no less honor upon the speaker. He was big
enough to share honor.
It is not strange, therefore, when French was superseded, for strategic
reasons, that Haig should have been given the chief command. The
appointment, however, left most of the world frankly amazed. Haig had
come forward so quietly that few save those in official circles knew
anything about him. It was nevertheless but a matter of weeks,
possibly days, before a quiet confidence born of the man himself was
manifest everywhere.
One war correspondent who visited headquarters in the midst of the
War's turmoil, thus describes his visit:
"The environment of the Commander-in-chief is strongly suggestive of
his conduct of the war. Before war became a thing of precise science,
the headquarters of an army head seethed with all the picturesque
details so common to pictures of martial life. Couriers mounted on
foam-flecked horses dashed to and fro.
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