I respectfully suggest to the House that no good would come at this
stage in discussing this question. But if any one needed conviction as
to the wisdom of that policy, this battle must have supplied it. The
peril we passed through, by establishing the conviction without
challenge, may, I think, be worth the price we paid for it.
A few days after the battle commenced there were present not merely the
Government, but the commanders in the field. We had not merely Field
Marshals but army commanders present. We were so convinced--and the same
thing applied to the French--of the importance of more complete
strategic unity that they agreed to the appointment of General Foch to
the supreme direction of the strategy of all the allied armies on the
western front.
May I not say just one word about General Foch? It is not merely that he
is one of the most brilliant soldiers in Europe, but there is this to be
said about him: Foch is the man who, when we were attacked and were in a
similar plight at the first battle of Ypres, rushed the French Army
there by every conceivable expedient--buses, cabs, lorries, anything he
could lay his hands upon. He crowded French divisions through, and
undoubtedly helped to win the great battle.
There is no doubt about the loyalty and comradeship of General Foch. I
have no doubt that this arrangement will be carried out not merely in
the letter but in the spirit. But it is the most important decision that
has been taken in reference to the coming battle. This strategic unity
is, I submit to the House, the fundamental condition of victory. It can
only be maintained by complete co-operation between the Governments and
the Generals and by something more than that--the unmistakable public
opinion behind it.