Letter written from Paris, 12 November 1914, on the Battle of the Marne, the progress of the Germans and his predictions of what's to come
2 sides, signed by Gallieni, writing to an old friend and reporting on his current movements, involving taking his troops toward l'Ourcq to attack the right flank of the German force. All of September Gallieni had been engaged in a hard-fought confrontation with the Germans, and he references Marne and that even some taxi-cabs from Paris were called into the military engagement. At the end of the letter he discusses the potential impact of Zeppelins on Paris, etc. There is a typed transcription of the letter but itself is very legible. The only problem is: the signature and handwriting don't match with what we see of his signature online. It could be that this is a copy, or it could be that when writing to friends, his signature and writing become less formal. At the time of this writing, Gallieni was Military Governor of Paris, and was going to be Joffre's successor as the principal general in charge of the French army, but resigned from his post in early 1916 after criticizing Joffre for his decision making at Verdun; he died at Versailes later in 1916. Because of our uncertainty about the authenticity of this letter we are pricing it considerably below market value if we could establish its veracity. Could be a real bargain! From the estate of Eugene Silvain (1851-1930) of the Comedie-Francaise. Item #H8355
Price: $200.00