Lord French in a Preface to a new edition of
his book 1914 has attempted to answer the counter-charges made against him by Mr. Asquith. It will be remembered that in his book
Lord French complains of the visit to Paris of Lord Kitchener, who, as Lord French says, assumed the airs of a Commander- in-Chief, and generally tried to interfere with the plans made on the spot. Mr. Asquith in rebutting the charges which Lord French made against him, and also in defending the reputation of Lord Kitchener, was compelled to point out that Lord Kitchener visited Paris at the express request of the whole Cabinet because Lord French had proposed temporarily to abandon the French and retire a long way in order to re-form his Army. This move would probably have been regarded as tantamount to leaving the French in the lurch, and would, as Mr. Asquith said, have brought on us indelible disgrace.
Previous page
