How is douglas haig remembered

It was clear that victory on the Western Front was nowhere in sight and planners feared that German industry would not be able to keep up with demand. In , the Germans carried out a planned retreat to the Hindenburg Line, a line of fortifications that could be defended with fewer men. It may have looked like a victory for the Allies but the reality was quite different, as subsequent operations against the line in would show.

But the idea that he wilfully and knowingly sent tens of thousands of Allied soldiers to their deaths is overly simplistic and fails to acknowledge the severe challenges facing a commander in charge of an inexperienced mass army, on a scale unlike anything seen before.

TV A new online only channel for history lovers. Sign Me Up. The plan The offensive on the Somme was initially conceived as part of a wider strategy to wear down the German Army by attacking it on all fronts in Dan interviews the brilliant historian Nick Lloyd, author of The Western Front who tells a much more nuanced account of the Western Front. A large shell dump on the Somme. Gary Sheffield - Professor of War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, and a specialist on Britain at war - discusses the controversial figure of Douglas Haig.

But it provided the Army with a tough lesson in how to fight a large-scale modern war. The bitter struggle that followed came to symbolize the horrors of trench warfare. Despite early gains, the Germans exhausted themselves, setting the stage for a successful Allied counter-offensive. In September , the face of battle changed forever.

On an unsuspecting enemy, Britain unleashed its new secret weapon - the tank. He successfully pioneered the combined use of infantry, cavalry and aeroplanes at the Battle of Megiddo. At the time, it was the largest British offensive of the First World War. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Be the first to hear about our latest events, exhibitions and offers. Simply enter your email address below to start receiving our monthly email newsletter. To find out more about how we collect, store and use your personal information, read our Privacy Policy.

National Army Museum 10am - 5. Toggle navigation. View this object. Early career The son of a wealth whisky distiller, Haig was born in Edinburgh into a large family of ancient Scottish lineage.

General Sir Douglas Haig, Wellington, composure. Hannibal, daring. Of course, truly great generals seem to possess all these qualities to some degree.

They are artists of a kind, blending in one person intelligence, intuition, courage, calculation and many other traits that allow them to see what others cannot and to act when the time is right. For students of military history, the question of what makes great commanders is inexhaustibly fascinating. We are, naturally, not intrigued by unsuccessful generals any more than we like to read about ballplayers who hit. There is nothing edifying in the biography of, say, Ambrose Burnside or any of the Union generals tormented by Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley.

But Douglas Haig may be the great exception to this rule. First, because he still has defenders who—in spite of those many graveyards and inconclusive, costly battles—would claim he was not in fact an unsuccessful commander.

At the end of the war, after all, the army he commanded—and had almost ruined—was, if not victorious, then plainly on the winning side.

Still, at the other extreme, one can argue persuasively that Haig did not merely fail to achieve his stated objectives in the great battles of the Somme and Ypres. While the controversy over Haig has never been settled, there was no question about his fitness for command when he took over the British forces on the Western Front after the failures of The battles at Arras and Loos had been badly planned and managed, captured little ground and resulted in what seemed at the time heavy casualties.

Then—BEF commander Sir John French was exhausted, demoralized and lacked confidence in himself and that of his immediate subordinates. He had obtained every qualification, gained every experience and served in every appointment requisite for the General Command. He was as sure of himself at the head of the British army as a country gentleman on the soil which his ancestors had trod for generations and to whose cultivation he had devoted his life. The man had a thing for horses, which is understandable in one who had been a cavalry officer during the infancy of the internal combustion engine.

Generals, the cynics like to say, are always fighting the last war. But Haig continued to believe in the cavalry long after the war that he was actually fighting—World War I—had proven mounted soldiers absurdly vulnerable and obsolete. Haig envisioned a vital role for the horse in his masterpiece, the Somme offensive. That battle is generally, and incorrectly, remembered as one decided through attrition. It failed even on that score, since the Allies lost more men than the Germans.

Haig, popular thinking goes, attacked and kept on attacking—even when the ground his men gained, yard by bloody yard, was useless by any military measure—in order to wear down the Germans. Attrition is never an inspired strategy and is usually the refuge of a commander who cannot come up with anything better. This diary entry for 26 November during a period on leave is typical:. We can see that Haig spends part of one of his precious days at home working, but in order to maximise their time together Lady Haig walks with him and patiently waits outside for the meeting to end.

Then he enjoys quality time with his young family. The diary is littered with entries like the one for 11 November Many other senior army officers were also devout. However, we have discovered no new evidence on this particular subject, and thus can safely be dismissed as a major influence on the Field Marshal during the First World War. Bacon would have been one of hundreds, if not thousands of visitors Haig met during the war. Haig was in overall control of British military operations on the Western Front, but was also senior British commander in the Allied coalition and theatre commander, responsible for administration and liaising with the government.

Today, two or even three individuals would share these responsibilities. Arguably, Haig simply had too much to do. Much of his time was spent dealing with allies. Haig frequently paints the French in a less than flattering light.

On 27 October , he noted that the French…. However, like many diarists, Haig used his journal to vent his frustration, and his actions with regard to the French belie his words. He was essentially a loyal and co-operative ally, who recognised that co-operation was essential if victory was to be achieved.

In August , he was one of the few British decision-makers who saw that the war was unlikely to be over by Christmas:. Although Haig has the reputation of a technophobe, the truth is very different. He was an enthusiastic supporter of air power, tanks, artillery and machine guns. His enthusiasm can be seen in a diary entry for 12 December As the war drew to an end, the Allies began to think of the terms on which they were prepared to make peace with Germany. From mid-October , Haig began to be more pessimistic about the possibility of inflicting a decisive defeat.