In 1867, at the age of sixteen, another change came in his schooling.
His father was stationed at St. Etienne near Lyons, and Ferdinand was
entered at St. Michel, a Jesuit college near by. Here he studied for
his university examinations, and made his choice of a life
profession--and it is not strange to note that he decided to be a
soldier. The choice made, his future studies, as is the way in French
colleges, were planned to follow specialized lines. It was not alone
necessary to choose the army, for example,--one must select a certain
branch of the army. Foch's aptitude at mathematics led him to take up
the artillery.
The principal school of this branch of the service was the Ecole
Polytechnique, at Paris, but a stiff entrance examination was required
here. So Foch decided to do preliminary work at St. Clement's College,
Metz, a training school with a high reputation.
In those days the city and fortress of Metz were on French soil. This
was just before the short but memorable Franco-Prussian War, but
already the air was rife with rumors of an impending conflict. The
French, however, were undisturbed. They thought, and expressed the
open opinion that it would be fought out on the other side of the
Rhine, and that the peace terms would be dictated in Berlin.
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