“He possesses many characteristic attitudes, and when in conversation is often to be seen tossing his képi from one side of his head to the other. In fact it is scarcely ever to be seen except jauntily tilted over one ear.
“His admiration for the cavalryman at the head of a triumphal entry into a town is reduced to nothingness by his conviction that he is useless in modern war. He would prefer to see a victorious General enter a town on foot, escorted by a section of Chars d’Assaut, as being more typical of the present-day battlefield.
“He is himself a great walker, and may frequently be seen alone, wearing, as is his wont, a pair of pale blue spats or gaiters, a relic of the Empire uniform, and in summer no socks.
“This latter habit was recommended to him by a friend, and its adoption by him is typical of the man in that he is always prepared to give careful thought and personal trial to any scheme laid before him.
“To this quality, added to his immense personal charm and vast experience, is due his undoubted right to rank amongst the big men of this war, a successful issue to which has ever been the dream of his life.”
On December 1, 1915, Colonel Estienne wrote an official letter to the Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies in which he outlined the idea of a new engine of war exactly as Colonel Swinton had done earlier in the year to our own War Office. A few days later he was given an interview at French General Headquarters, when he was able to enlarge upon his theories as to the new arm. Here he must, one conjectures, have received some encouragement, for about a week afterwards he visited the Schneider Engineering Works in Paris and discussed mechanical details with the management.
But the good seed which Colonel Estienne had sown at Headquarters would, he knew, take some time to germinate. He returned to his command, now the artillery of the 3rd Corps, at that time before Verdun. All the while he kept unofficially in touch with the Schneider Works.
At last, about February 25, 1916, he learned that the Under-Secretary’s Department for Artillery had decided to place an order for 400 armoured vehicles with Schneider’s.
But about two months later, at the end of April, he heard a more surprising piece of news.
The Under-Secretary’s Department had, without the approval of the Commander-in-Chief or any notice to him, Estienne, placed an order for a further 400 vehicles of a different and heavier type, driven by a petrol-electric motor.