Field Marshal John French was a soldier through and through and had a glorious career during
the colonial era of the British Empire, but all the battles around the world couldn’t
prepare him for modern war.
My name is Indy Neidell, welcome to the Great War and a new episode of WHO DID WHAT IN WW1
about British Field Marshal Sir John French.
John Denton Pinkstone French was born on September 28, 1852- same birthday as me, but not the
same year- in the english village of Ripple Vale. His father was Royal Navy officer William
French, who died two years after his son was born. His mother Margaret would suffer from
severe depression afterwards, so John and his older sister Charlotte were sent to London
to live in the care of other relatives.
At the age of 14, John French joined the Royal Navy, but in 1874 he switched to the Army
where his career soon took off. In 1885 he went to the Sudan with the 19th Royal Hussars
where he took part in the Nile Expedition to rescue Charles Gordon, the famous General.
Gordon and his troops were besieged in Khartoum by Mahdi rebels. The rescue attempt ultimately
failed and Gordon was killed, but French’s actions got the attention of his superiors
and four years later he gained command of the 19th Hussars - at the age of 36. Posted
to India as a Colonel in 1891, his career was nearly derailed when he was cited for
adultery while on leave, which the men promptly called “French leave”, but several years
later he again began commanding cavalry brigades. French apparently had friends in high places.
During the 2nd Boer War, he served in South Africa. This led to conflict with his sister
who now was a member of the up and coming British anti-war movement; a conflict that
would continue throughout their lives with French’s sister quite likely his most vocal critic.
In South Africa, where he became a national hero, French commanded the cavalry in Natal.
Again, his superiors were impressed with him after the British success at the Battle of
Elandslaagte in October 1899, and then as General he took Kimberley and its huge diamond
deposits. He would take part in the Battle of Paardeberg soon after which was the first
big victory in the second Boer War.
After his success in South Africa, he returned home. Promoted several times over the following
years, in 1912 he became Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the
British Army. He was also the candidate for leading the British Expeditionary Forces in
case of war - and those were the troops that were sent to Belgium and France in 1914.
The first major action for the BEF was at the Battle of the Mons which laid some groundwork
for the Entente victory at the Battle of the Marnes in September 1914, but even though
this was a turning point of the war, public opinion at that time turned against French.
He was held responsible for the huge British casualties which were in reality low compared
to the French and German ones - but no one was used to the sheer scale that the new war
had brought with it.
He had also wanted to retire his men completely from the Allied line to refit them instead
of supporting the French, which didn’t sit so well with Lord Kitchener, the British secretary
of state for war. His leadership during the 2nd Battle of Ypres was also criticised for
the number of casualties, and after his failure to break through the German lines at the Battle
of Loos, the writing was on the wall. In December 1915, French was replaced by his proxy Sir
Douglas Haig. John French was ordered back to Britain. The official reasons were his
lack of determination and his lack of spirit for warfare. Back in Britain he served as
commander in chief of the home forces and then lord lieutenant of Ireland.
His memoirs came out in 1919 but were highly criticised as being full of inaccuracies and
fabrications, and Field Marshal John French, the first Earl of Ypres, died of cancer on May 22 1925.
John French was a soldier through and through with an impressive military career, despite
scandal, but all the fighting and all the glory of colonial wars could not prepare him
for World War 1. Even though the signs of what modern war was like were there in several
other wars, such as the Russo-Japanese war, and French could have learned from them, he
didn’t. On the other hand, the casualties during the early weeks of the war were comparably
low for the British - but how could the public know that in 1914? In the end, John French
serves as a good example for the clash of mentalities between colonial glory and modern war.
You can see a lot more about the battles French commanded in during the war in our regular
weekly episodes, and If you’d like to see another brief bio about one of French’s
allied counterparts, click here to see Ferdinand Foch. Tell us what other WW1 figures you’d
like to see bios of in the comments below, don’t forget to subscribe. See you Thursday.