Names in the News: Ferdinand Foch

 

A career soldier serving in the Franco-Prussian War incited by Germany's own Otto von Bismark, Ferdinand Foch rose through the ranks of the French Military, ultimately assuming the position of Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in World War I, frequently butted heads with American general John J. Pershing over the position. It was under Foch's command that Allied forced mounted the counter-attack at the second battle of Marne that would ultimately turn the tide of the war in favor of the Allies. Following the war Foch played a large role in the Paris Peace Conference as an advisor to French Diplomats making political decisions as to what should come in the wake of the war.