GAULLE Charles de. 3 L. A. S., 18, 23 and 29 November 1915, to his mother Jeanne de Gaulle in Paris; 4 pages in-12 with envelope, 8 pages in-12 (slight wetness with a few slight cracks and small marginal tears), and 6 pages in-8. Three long letters from the front to his mother, commenting on the globalisation of the war and criticising politicians. 18 November. "All's well over here. A few minor relief incidents in the region interrupted our rest period, and we were suddenly back in line. But it won't be long, we intend to go back very soon, and for about ten days. The probable intervention of Greece against us fills me with satisfaction. In fact, the force of circumstances will force us to abandon the expedition to the East, and willy-nilly we will not persevere in this error which could have been fatal to us. Here we are, prevented by our own enemies from going over there and swallowing up the fine infantry and excellent shells that we will soon need so much to drive the enemy away on the Meuse and the Rhine. Obviously, the Serbs are lost until a victorious peace resurrects them, but it was certain in advance that their loss was decided by fate, and there was no reason for us to lose ourselves with them. Of course, the hundred thousand soldiers we were wrong to send over there will have a hard time getting back, but in any case we would never have seen them again, and at least they will only be a hundred thousand! Let's take the disappointment of our self-esteem and suffer the gratuitous losses that the cruel inadequacy of our system has caused us. But let's not forget that our misfortunes could have been much worse in this respect. And now that we are free of this error, let us prepare with all our strength for the next and decisive victory, the one that will free our own territory, the one that will drive the enemy out of Belgium and allow us, if we have the audacity, to settle there in his place, the one that will give us back, if we are capable of wanting it, our natural frontier: the Rhine. Everything else is a waste of time, money and infantrymen. Mr Denys Cochin is a good man, but he's a parliamentarian: he understands nothing about action! I'm sure he's astonished that the Greeks are about to intervene against us! As for Briand, he must have his nose in his shoes, now that he has some. And yet I have no desire to see him go. What's the point? 23 November. He talks about the fate of their parents in Belgium. "For the war is not at an end, nor should it be. It must end only with the absolute, definitive victory of our arms; Peace can only be dictated by us, and we must harden our hearts and concentrate our energies to repel the many temptations that a shrewd enemy is beginning to offer us. As for this victory, it is less doubtful than ever. The day when our splendid armies, our British auxiliaries, our Russian allies, our Italian associates, armed with the formidable resources they are accumulating, all attack together and on all fronts a weary and exhausted enemy, I have an absolute and unshakeable conviction, this destroyed enemy will be thrown back as one on its territory where we will follow and with what momentum! We can have these resources and we will have them. Our artillery is served, if we take England into account, by a metallurgy five times superior to that of our adversary and the seas are ours. Our infantry has never been more disciplined - whatever that cavalier General Cherfils thinks - and better disposed morally. We know, we feel every day, that the enemy's value is decreasing while ours is increasing. The proof is that, without naturally wanting to look like it, he ardently desires peace immediately. We mustn't give it to him, and he won't get it. He then gave information on the death of Sub-Lieutenant Desmoulins, who was killed on 15 August 1914 near Dinant, and mentioned other officers who had been killed or wounded... 29th November. "We are quite nervous at the moment in our Sector, so that what was supposed to be a rest for the Regiment is not really one. We spend our time on all sorts of alerts. From a general point of view, I am not at all worried about the results that a big attack by the enemy could have for us. He obviously has enough artillery to take us if he wants to pay the price in men and shells for one or other of our positions, but he will lose it eight days later, and in any case his attempts will have no future. He no longer has the superiority in morale, equipment and manpower that is necessary to triumph in a war of positions. I even admit that I would look favourably on German attacks, because they would obviously cause some emotion in high places and would finish by diverting us from this absurd and lamentable expedition to Serbia. As was certain, we have in no way prevented the Germans from uniting with the Bulgarians and going for a walk in Constantinople if that pleases them, we have in no way saved the Serbs whose territory has been entirely conquered by the enemy and whose army is out of the question, and here we are obliged, on pain of disaster, to cross the Cerna again, thus inflicting on ourselves an absolutely gratuitous self-esteem defeat. I forgot to mention that of course neither the Romanians nor the Greeks are marching with us. We are still lucky not to see King Constantine's troops attacking General Sarrail's army from behind. What absolutely astounds me is that all this did not seem clear as day to everyone when the expedition began. There was nothing less than talk of preventing the Bulgarians and Germans from joining up, of rejecting Mackensen in Austria, of marching half a million Romanians and a quarter of a million Greeks... All this is fantasy, I repeat for the hundredth time. There is one solution to the war and one only, and that is the emancipation by force of our invaded departments and of Belgium and the invasion of German territory; we shall do this, of course, aided by all the men the Russians think they can put on their feet, by an appreciable number of Englishmen, and by a growing Italian offensive. Until we are ready for this effort, let us remain calm and prepare ourselves. Let us instruct our armies, reshuffle our command, train our staffs, accumulate the formidable equipment that English and our own metallurgy enables us to manufacture; and when we are ready, let us attack all together. The Germans who might then be wandering off to Sofia, Constantinople or Calcutta will come back on their own. I can vouch for that, and our real successes will make the Greeks, the Romanians and all the rest march without hesitation. That is truth and life. Public opinion must be convinced of this, and not allow the first drainer who comes along and is installed as a minister of anything to turn away from this programme"... LNC, I, p. 199, 203 and 207. Newspapers enclosed: 2 issues of La Voix du Pays (16 November 1915) and 8 issues of the German newspaper Die Feldpost (8, 23 November and December 1915).