The French commanders Philippe Pétain and Henri Giraud were trained at Saint-Cyr.
British and French commanders flew there to plan the ground campaign; the sheikhdom was pouring money and arms into Libya.
Such double-talk was necessitated by the perilous situation in France, but it left French commanders in North Africa confused.
As French commanders had been almost exclusively focused on their own offensive plans, their hasty efforts to bolster the defenses of Verdun were very nearly too late.
Lt. Col. Jean-Michel Mechain, 46, has denied giving journalists documents describing tensions between French commanders and the United Nations administrator in Kosovo.
While the French commanders will continue to be in charge of overall security, the British will patrol the bridge, which has also been the scene of recent clashes.
Along the way Mr. Eisenhower introduces the major European figures in the story, the French commanders Henri Pétain and Ferdinand Foch and their British counterpart Douglas Haig.
They are part of a team of British military and MI6 personnel in the country who are providing support to French commanders.
