L’Action de guerre et le Chef Conférence faite à l’École supérieure de guerre, le 7 avril 1927, sous la présidence de M. le Maréchal Pétain

This text constitutes one of the most important chapters of Le Fil de l’épée: indeed — proof of its significance — it is the only piece first published in a journal to be reprinted in the 1932 book. This is no doubt because it lays out the foundations of Captain de Gaulle’s concept of command: a combination of factors relating to the personality of the leader as much as to the organizational qualities of an entire army. Knowledge of men and terrain, of one’s own army and of one’s adversaries, acquired through experience, together with a thorough study of History — especially of great battles — completed the qualities required to make a great leader. To these two fundamental elements is added a third: the authority vested in the military leader by political officials.