Hankey's diary for 24 October 1917
Reference: Hankey Papers, HNKY 1/3. Reproduced with the permission of the Master and Fellows of Churchill College.
"Lord French asked me to call about tea-time. He said that the P.M. had sent for him and had suggested that he should soften some of the phrases to make them less offensive to Robertson & he had agreed to do so. At the Prime Minister's suggestion he asked for my evaluation in this. I spent an hour or so with him & Henry Wilson doing this. From what Henry Wilson said, while Lord French was out of the room, it was clear that French's reason for agreeing to alter his report was that he wanted to remove the impression that he was bitter against Robertson. He told me however that he had declined to accede to the Prime Minister's proposal that he should praise Haig's tactical handling of the situation. He said that Haig was always repeating the mistake he had urged French himself to make at Loos, and had reproached him for not making, namely to keep his men too much in the front line. In discussing the report he frankly admitted that his object was to get rid of Robertson, whom he accuses of not being up to the job of C.I.G.S. (Chief of the Imperial General Staff, which co-ordinated the military efforts of Britain and the Empire) and of merely repeating what Haig dictates. He hinted, but less confidently, that Haig ought to go too. "We shall do no good" he said "until we break down the Haig-Robertson ring". There was envy, hatred and malice in the old boy's heart as he spoke. With the knowledge I have of the inner & seamy side of this incident I could, by raising my little finger smash Lloyd George, his Government & Lord French! But this would end the war in a manner most unfavourable to us. . . . .My job is to try and push the Govt. machine along until the war is brought to a successful termination, and I shall not allow myself to be drawn into politics, of which however some knowledge is unavoidable to one in my position."