Marshal Ferdinand Foch (French pronunciation: ​[fɔʃ]), (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French soldier, military theorist and the Allied Généralissime during the First World War.At the outbreak of war in August 1914, Foch's XX Corps participated in the brief invasion of Germany before retiring in the face of a German counter-attack and successfully blocking the Germans short of Nancy.