RINE Maj Gen Lionel C. Mo Col W. W. Culp, A Col J. L. Frink, Jr.. Col E. C. Dunn, A Col 0. G. Kinney Col V. W Hobson EDITOR IN CHIEF LT COL RODGER R. BANKSON, INF MANAGING EDITOR SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR SPANISH-AMERICAN EDITION Editor MAJ GILBERTO GONZÁLEZ-JULIÁ, INF Assistant Editors MAJ TOMÁS H. GUFFAIN, INF CAPT ORLANDO ORTIZ MORENO, INF BRAZILIAN EDITION Editor COL SEBASTIÃO FERREIRA CHAVES, ARTY Assistant Editor EAT WALDIR DA COSTA GODOLPHIM, ARTY The MILITARY REVIEW disseminates modern military thought and current Army doctrine concerning command and staff procedures of the division and higher echelons and provides a forum for articles which stimulate military thinking. Authors, civilian and military alike, are encouraged to submit articles which will assist in the fulfillment of this mission. POLICY. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in the original articles in this magazine are those of the individual authors and not necessarily precisely those of the Department of the Army or the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College. Production Officer LT COL LOUIS RUIZ, CMLC Editor. The printing of this publication has been approved by LITARY REVIEW-Published monthly by U. S. Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavrth Kansas, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Entered as second-class matter August 31, 1934. Post Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Subscription rates: $3.50 army) a year in the United States, United States military post offices, and those countries which embers of the Pan-American Postal Union (including Spain): $4.50 a year in all other countries. BE Colonel V. J. Gregory, United States Air Force Reserve, Retired THIS military heroine is just as signifi cant today as in the days when kings ruled ! the earth. She remains a timeless source of inspiration to military students as well as to the literati of all nations. Novelists in a dozen lands have dipped their quills in a fountain of tears, enveloping her in a miasmal cloud of the supernatural. In drama she is depicted as a saint in the first act; in the second she is condemned, and burned in the third. Historians, attempting to appraise her military status, largely have fallen into the error of fiction writers and dramatists. Joan of Arc Superstitious nonsense to the contrary, the facts are clear. Joan of Arc achieved her objectives. As the French chef de guerre she crushed the English invaders in a series of brilliant battles, leading to the termination of the 100-year-old war between France and England. Her first and greatest victory undoubtedly was at Orleans where she forced the English to raise the siege. Wounded while leading an assault against Les Tourelles, a twin-towered fortress, she plucked out the arrow shaft, rallied and cried, "My banner touches the wall, the place is yours." She was at the head of her troops, mounted on a horse, not a broomstick. Situation in France The situation in France at that time was critical. France had two masters, one f whom was the infant son of the late King Henry V of England. His protector, Uncle John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, sat in Paris and governed northern France. The other master was the Dauphin who, although proclaimed King Charles VII, was denied the throne of his native land by the Treaty of Troyes. He was pliant, tractable, and permitted himself to be pushed around by his own courtiers. Further, France was split by a factional fight. The Burgundians and Armagnacs carried on a bitter conflict. Roving bands of undisciplined soldiers and vandals pillaged and robbed. The people were dispirited, poverty stricken,.and miserable. It was not a happy land. Journey to Chinon In the village of Domremy, province of Lorraine, lived Joan, daughter of peasant parents, Jacques and Isabelle d'Arc. She listened to travelers passing through the village who brought disturbing stories of an impending English invasion. They reported that the Duke of Bedford had besieged Orleans on 12 October 1428. This city which sprawled along the northern banks of the Loire was the gateway to southern France. It was feared that if the duke succeeded in overpowering the city, he would attack the southern provinces and gather the entire nation under a foreign flag. Joan brooded and dreamed, decided to help the Dauphin. She was 16. She faced rugged opposition in attempting to reach the Dauphin who had his court in Chinon Castle. Joan confided in her father who scoffed at her dreams, rid The Maid of Orleans swept away the feudal pattern of life. Her victoies were achieved not by witchcraft, as charged, but by sound military rinciples applied with foresight, initiative, and inspired leadership |