# Sir John French — Now It Can Be Told character guide > Sir John French in Now It Can Be Told by Philip Gibbs. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** French, the French, The French **First appearance:** 0003-i ## Snapshot The stocky, coughing Commander-in-Chief who welcomes the correspondents in a sunlit château while men die in ditches, and whose white horse at Loos becomes a bitter joke for the Scots. ## Who they are He receives the war correspondents at St.-Omer with top-boots, spurs, and a speech about honor and the power of the press, pronouncing the town's name as though canonizing Omar Khayyam. Later, after the failure at Loos, he rides a white horse past wounded Highlanders who do not know or care who he is, and their verdict—"he's made a mess o' the battle"—hangs over him. He matters as the book's first portrait of high command: well-meaning, perhaps, but already outpaced by a war he cannot comprehend. ## Relationships ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _professional_ Sir John French, as a senior British commander, interacts with the Narrator in an official military context. ### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans) _rivalry_ Sir John French, as a British commander, is an adversary of the German forces. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _professional_ Sir John French, as a senior British commander, interacts with the Narrator in an official military context. ### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans) _rivalry_ Sir John French, as a British commander, is an adversary of the German forces. ### [The Germans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/the_germans) _rivalry_ Sir John French, as a British commander, is an adversary of the German forces. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _professional_ Sir John French, as a senior British commander, interacts with the Narrator in an official military context. ## In the story ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) French soldiers and civilians are depicted in retreat, suffering, and despair, with cries of agony and scenes of mass flight. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Sir John French's headquarters were in Creil during the retreat, overseeing the British forces. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) French soldiers, including a lieutenant and a sergeant, who stormed and captured the château. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii) Commander-in-Chief who receives the press at his château and later appears on a white horse after the Battle of Loos. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xi) The French villagers, especially the women, clamor for the soldier's arrest and identification. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xv) Mentioned as having a touch of personal power during the retreat from Mons, but his prestige faded as trench warfare began. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvii) Commander-in-Chief who had already left his château, leaving others behind. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) French girls are mentioned kissing and giving flowers to the soldiers upon their arrival. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) Contrasted with the British, French soldiers are described as having patriotism as a religion. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) French soldiers and colored troops are among those staggering through the Lille and Menin gates after the gas attack. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xi) French civilians, including the Comtesse de Henencourt, interact with British soldiers and endure the war's destruction. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) French soldiers live alongside the British in a friendly bivouac; a French interpreter (Baron de Rosen) guides the narrator. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) French peasants harvest corn under shell-range; a French sentry challenges the narrator in a dark town. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Commander-in-Chief who wrote of cavalry cooperation plans and concealed objectives. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Allied force cooperating in the planned battle. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) A French woman in an estaminet bids farewell to a British soldier with 'Bonne chance!' and affectionate words. ### [Béthune: The Black Country Capital](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) French civilians, including shopkeepers, young women, old women, and grizzled men, watch the troops pass, offering cheers, tears, and curses against the Germans. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) French miners and girls remain in the mining towns near the front, showing courage and forming relationships with British soldiers. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) Quoted in his despatch, claiming the subsidiary attacks 'most effectively achieved' their objective. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/viii) French troops cheer the Londoners as they advance, and a French officer comments on a soldier kicking a football as a 'beau geste'. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) French troops fight desperately at Souchez and Neuville St.-Vaast, suffering heavy casualties but alarming German staff. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) French civilians gather excitedly around captured guns, and a French interpreter speaks of a false victory in Champagne. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiii) Commander-in-Chief who held reserves back and issued a controversial despatch about the battle. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) His staff estimated German dead at 8-9,000; the narrator notes his blunders due to ignorance of modern battles. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) The village of Annequin and the French hall at Lillers provide the setting; a woman's white face is seen peering from a ruined cottage. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/x) French soldiers engage in snowball fights in a village. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) The French army is under immense pressure at Verdun, giving ground slowly after heroic resistance. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiii) French soldiers are depicted as exhausted, wet, and miserable, yet enduring for France. The narrator encounters a French captain, a sergeant, and a young lieutenant named Edouard. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) The French held Arras before handing it over to the British; their soldiers and citizens are described as heroic and enduring. ### [The Heart of a City](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-v-the-heart-of-a-city) French poilus, unshaven and grim, jostle among British soldiers in the streets of Amiens. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) French shopgirls in Amiens interact with British soldiers, showing patience and pity, while having their own lovers fighting elsewhere. ### [The Street of the Three Pebbles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) French army retreats through Amiens in August 1914; soldiers sing 'La Marseillaise' while boys are hurried away in train trucks. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) French poilus detrained at Amiens station, grim and sullen, with packs like traveling tinkers. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iv) A French poilu, middle-aged and drunk, denounces the war and government in the street. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/v) Two poilus enter the estaminet, grizzled and battle-worn, carrying a trophy from a German officer they killed. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) The French agent de police and the woman behind the bar are involved in the incident with the Australian. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vii) French girls with pocket torches seek to entice English officers; French anti-aircraft guns fire from the citadel. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) French families and girls in Amiens who hosted English officers and suffered from their broken promises. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xii) French officers cross themselves and women in black kneel at altars, praying for husbands and sons. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiii) French soldiers with severe facial injuries sit on the steps of the Palais de Justice. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xiv) French soldiers are wounded and brought back on barges; French officers use chalets for rendezvous. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi) Expected to come to the relief of the British right flank near Amiens. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvii) French soldiers and the French commandant de place participate in the banquet and decorate the city. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) The French are noted for their heroic defense at Verdun, sustaining heavy losses but holding the line. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xvi) French quayside loungers and fishwives reacted with shock and pity upon seeing the diminutive Bantams arrive at Boulogne. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxi) The French are mentioned as taking German prisoners alongside British troops during the Somme battles. ### [The Breaking Point on the Somme](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxii) French forces press forward on the right flank near Roye, contributing to the Allied advance. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/xxiii) French armies join the British in hammering the German lines on the Somme battlefields. ### [Part VII: The Fields of Armageddon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/part-vii-the-fields-of-armageddon) The French are mentioned alongside the British and Americans in the final combined attack that broke the German army. ### [The Devastated Region](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) French civilians, including old women, young mothers, and children, are encountered in liberated villages; they express hatred for Germans but recall individual acts of decency. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ix) Mentioned as doing their part with steady, driving pressure alongside Americans. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/i) Portrayed as a people driven by fear of Germany, accepting heavy military burdens and alliances. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/ii) Included among the Allies, noted for their lust for vengeance and spoils. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/iii) Praised for their medieval valor and sacrifice for La Patrie, especially during the first Battle of the Marne and at Verdun. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/chapters/vi) French lines were also broken, but later held. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters/sir_john_french - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/now_it_can_be_told_se/characters