Paul Pau

He was offered the position of Army Chief of Staff by War Minister Adolphe Messimy, but was removed from consideration due to his anti-republican political views and his insistence on the authority to personally nominate generals for high commands.

[3] Although initially successful, Pau was forced to withdraw after the defeat of the First Army at Morhange-Sarrebourg.

When it was clear to Joffre that French hopes for a quick victory in Alsace had faded and that France now faced the real possibility of quick defeat (caused by the Schlieffen Plan), Pau's army was broken up and sent north to join Maunoury's Sixth Army in time to participate in the First Battle of the Marne.

He was photographed holding his cutlass while reviewing troops and decorating a unit's flag in the second reel of the American silent war-front documentary War As It Really Is (1916).

Pau also toured Australia and New Zealand between September 1918 and January 1919 with the French Mission on a post-war diplomatic visit.