French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau greeting General Fernando Tamagnini, commander of Portuguese forces on the Western Front.

Os Portugueses em França; M. Clemenceau e o General Tamagnini.

Les Portugais en France; M. Clemenceau le Général Tamagnini.

The Portuguese in France; Marshal Douglas Haig and General Tamagnini.

Reverse:

Serv. Phot. do C. E P. - Phot. Garcez

Lévy Fils & Cie. Paris

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Tuesday, May 2, 1916

"Clemenceau also paid a visit [to the front lines]. When they tried to prevent his going into the trenches, he retorted: 'What of it! How long have I got to live! Perhaps four or five years! And in failing health. . . . Beside, such a lot of people would be glad if anything happened to me!'

Clemenceau came upon an advanced outpost who enjoined him: 'Keep quiet!' The soldier was informed: 'This is Clemenceau.' His reply was: 'Ho, ho! So it's Clemenceau, is it? Very well, let him keep quiet all the same!; This same outpost related that he was only five yards away from his opposite number in the German lines: 'For the last few days he's had a cold. He's been coughing all the time. But now he's getting better!'"

Quotation Context

Entry from May 2, 1916 from the diary of Michel Corday, a senior civil servant in the French government. Georges Clemenceau was a member of Radical Party, and served in the French Senate. He was appointed Prime Minister in November 1917, holding the position through the end of the war.

Source

The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 161, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934

Tags

Georges Clemenceau, Clemenceau, 1916, 1916-05-02, May, trench