What you did was the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of all of the armies of Europe. - Ferdinand Foch

If France has a firm hold of the Rhine, she may be at rest, for she can be sure of reparations and security; without the Rhine she has neither. All that may be offered or given in exchange is valueless, illusory, empty. That is the position I took up immediately. We must have the Rhine line; we want nothing more and will take nothing less.

Mon centre cède, ma droite recule. Situation excellente, j'attaque.

The Rhineland question is controlled by the Rhine. The river is the deciding factor. The master of the Rhine is the master of the surrounding country. Whichever side does not control the Rhine has lost.