re they.
His speech is quick, precise, logical.

So little has Foch been known to the French public that it has been
stated time and again that he is an Alsatian. He is not, but comes of a
Basque family which has lived for many generations in the territory
which is now the Department of the Hautes-Pyrenees, directly on the
border of Spain. Foch was born in the town of Tarbes in that department.
Joffre was born in the Department Pyrenees-Orientales, on the Spanish
border to the east. Foch's father, Napoleon Foch, was a Bonapartist and
Secretary of the Prefecture at Tarbes under Napoleon III. One of his two
brothers, a lawyer, is also called Napoleon. The other is a Jesuit
priest. Foch and these brothers attended the local college, and then
turned to their professions.

In 1870 Foch served as a subaltern against the Germans, as did Joffre.
After the war Foch began to win recognition as a man of brains, and at
26 he was given a commission as artillery Captain. Later he became
Professor of Tactics in the Ecole de Guerre, with the title of
Commandant, where he remained for five years, and then returned to
regimental work. It was when Foch reached the grade of Brigadier General
that he went back to the War College, this time as Director, one of the
most confidential positions in the War Department. From this post he
went to the command of the Thirteenth Division, thence to the command of
the Eighth Corps at Bourges, and thence to the command of the Twentieth
Corps at Nancy.

At the time that Foch was appointed Director of the Ecole de Guerre,
Clemenceau was Premier, and upon the latter fell the task of choosing an
officer for the important Directorship. There was keen competition for
the position, many influential Generals desiring the appointment, and in
consequence much wire-pulling went on. The story goes that Clemenceau,
a man of action, became impatient of the intrigues for the post, and
determined to make his own choice unhampered.

According to the story, Clemenceau, after a conference one day upon
routine business with Foch, asked the latter to dine. The Ecole de
Guerre was not mentioned during the meal, the men chatting upon general
topics. But as the coffee was being brought on, the Premier turned
suddenly to the General and said, brusquely:

"By the way, I've a good bit of news for you. You're nominated Director
of the Ecole de Guerre."

"Director of the Ecole de Guerre! But I'm not a candidate for the post.