Gamelin & Gort

Anglo-French unity of command was spotlighted brightly enough to be visible as far as Berchtesgaden as little General Maurice Gustave Gamelin, Commander in Chief of all French land, sea and air forces, arrived in London one day last week for talks with Britain's Chief of the Imperial General Staff, John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, Sixth Viscount Gort. In full regalia the generals met in London's Victoria Station. Together they toured Sandhurst and Aldershot where Lieut. General Sir John Dill showed off his latest tanks. General Gamelin peeped inside one, did not get in. At the spectacular Aldershot Tattoo, General Gamelin in a white-plumed hat took the salute while tanks, armored cars, caterpillar trucks, motorized antiaircraft units whirled past in the glare of searchlights.

In London, at the Trooping of the Colour, General Gamelin watched from a balcony beside Queen Mary. Also present at the Trooping, although not in uniform, was Germany's General Walter von Reichenau, who was in London to attend the meetings of the International Olympic Committee.

Then came informal talks between General Gamelin and Lord Gort at the War Office. It was also taken for granted that they would confer with General Kiazim Orbay, Inspector General of the Third Turkish Army, unless he had come to London just to see his tailor. Their theme: military tactics of Britain, France and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean. Bang-up climax was a demonstration of Anglo-French naval power as units of the French Atlantic squadron for the first time since 1918 joined the British Home Fleet at Rosyth.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.