GAULLE Charles de. 4 L. A. S. "Charles", 9, 24 and 26 April 1919, to his parents Henri and Jeanne de GAULLE in Paris; 4 and 6 pages with their envelope, an illustrated postcard with text and address on reverse, and 1 page in-12 in pencil (correspondence card) with address on reverse. Beautiful letters from the captain sent on a mission to Poland. Lorrez-le-Bocage (Seine-et-Marne), 9th April, to his mother. "I have been definitively posted to what is known for the moment as the Regiment School. This means that I am destined to be part of a school for Polish officers and cadres. Personally, I'm assigned to officer training. In two-month courses, I will have all the officers of the Polish army in succession, to whom I will be responsible (along with a few others, of course) for teaching our regulations and our doctrines of war. We will leave for Poland as soon as the 1st Division has left, which we think will be in a fortnight or so. Between now and then, I will have a lot to do to prepare myself for my new task. I am not unhappy to begin my adventures in Poland with teaching. First of all, I'll have to work and therefore learn a lot myself. Then, once I'm there, I'll be close to the sun, and I think I'll be able to get a job wherever I want. It's better to start from the centre than from the periphery. My orderly is a Polish soldier. A strange twist of fate? He served in the German army during the campaign [...]. For a long time he was in line in front of Berry-au-Bac, in other words in front of me, and he used to fire his rifle at me! Now he's shining my shoes with a gusto I can only praise. We're getting on in German"... 20 April. "Passing through Metz, we spend 15 minutes there. Warsaw, 24 April 1919, to his father. "We arrived here this morning without any incident on the way. I am taking advantage of a return train to send you my regards. We will probably go to Modelin (Nowa Georgiewsk). Charles". Modlin 26th April. "My dearest Mummy, Our journey went from one end to the other without any notable incident. The Boche, to tell the truth - especially in Prussia - watched us pass with looks full of hatred and fury. But they were careful not to say anything, so deep are their feelings of defeat and fear. In Polish territory, that is to say from Lissa (excluded), we were naturally received with enthusiasm"... He was sent to Modlin, "a gigantic stronghold in the confluence of the Narew and Vistula rivers, comprising a sort of large village for civilians and countless barracks, casemates, forts, etc. for the military [...]. [...] In about ten days' time, we'll be receiving our pupils, in other words a complete Polish division that we'll be tasked with training in two months, or better still, reforming. [...] In the meantime, General Haller's divisions are arriving in turn. As soon as they are fully assembled, supplied with everything and reinforced with a few new divisions, no one here doubts that they will take up a large-scale offensive against the Russian Bolshevists"... Poland lacks picturesqueness: "Large flat sandy plains more or less well cultivated. [...] This country is really exhausted by the war, not in terms of men of course, for they are plentiful, but in terms of resources other than strictly agricultural ones. [...] I send you a thousand kisses, my dearest Mum. It is basically a melancholy destiny that of the soldier, always wandering. But you have to accept your destiny. It's the best effort you can make on yourself, and it's also the most essential"... LNC, I, p. 454 to 457.