[REVIEW]. GAULLE colonel Charles de. Paris, Librairie militaire Berger-Levrault, March 1, 1925. Revue militaire française. N° 45. In-8 (21,7 x 13,5 cm), red chagrin Jansenist binding, ribbed spine, small gilt inner lace, gilt head, covers and spine preserved. Number 45 (1st March 1925) of this review "published with the assistance of the Army Staff, a merger of the Journal des sciences militaires, the Revue militaire des armées étrangères and the Revue d'histoire". The issue contained six articles, including one by Captain de Gaulle entitled "Doctrine a priori ou doctrine des circonstances". Drawing on his experience of the First World War, he questioned, as he often did, the role of the leader and the tactical choices that could be made in the face of the enemy: "Confusing the fortifications we were up against with the enemy who used them, many believed that the whole problem of victory consisted in getting through the enemy's trenches. The breakthrough became a supreme and almost divine entity. For a long time, our effort consisted of first building up powerful artillery and a large infantry force in a sector of the front chosen a priori and then trying to take the German trenches to their full depth, assuming that victory would be achieved as soon as our assault waves had reached the 'open ground'. The copy, bound by Charles de Gaulle's father-in-law, Jacques Vendroux, includes an autograph letter from the General to him (Mainz, 17 March 1925): "I am pleased, my dear Father, that you have enjoyed studying La Revue militaire. At the moment it is causing quite a stir in war circles and cenacles because it attacks the emerging doctrine of the École de guerre, which I had refused to support at the time. Many people, and not the least, think as I do and say so". The letter was reproduced in LNC, I, p. 606 where the copy is quoted. A precious provenance for this military study which already foreshadows the disaster of 1940. Spine a little faded. Provenance: - Jacques Vendroux (quoted in LNC, I, p. 606). - Philippe de Gaulle and by descent. Bibliography: LNC, I, p. 606.