"Ferdinand Foch is the prototype of the twentieth-century general. Better than any other general of the First World War, he came to understand how technology and modern alliance systems had changed the nature of warfare. Most famous for his role as Allied commander in chief in 1918, Foch welded together the disparate war efforts of France, Great Britain, the United States, Italy, and Belgium.

Now fighting as a more coherent whole, the Allies repulsed the German spring offensives of 1918 and returned to the attack themselves in the summer. In this role, Foch foreshadowed the similar roles played by other commanders of large coalitions, such as Dwight Eisenhower in World War II and Norman Schwarzkopf in Desert Storm."--Jacket.