How far was the Field Marshall Douglas Haig responsible for the failings of the British armies on the Western Front in 1916 and 1917?
Was Sir Douglas Haig responsible for the failings of the British army on the Western Front? That questions has caused many debates and disputes between many historians over the last 90 years, and yet no conclusion has been drawn.
This 1st of July 1916 was the beginning of one of the bloodiest battles in British military history, the battle of the Somme. The battle lasted for four months and during this time around 723,000 men were to be slaughtered, under the command of Sir Douglas Haig. Haig was born on June 19th 1861. He was from a wealthy upper class background, and due to his wealth he was educated at Oxford College and then the royal Military College, before becoming a member of the 7th hussars in India IN 1886. Haig was made chief of staff to the cavalry commander, major general Sir John French in the Boer war before being promoted to Major General in 1904. At the age of 44, Haig became director of military training at the war office. This was an outstanding achievement for Haig and it was from this he started to build a strong reputation as an experienced military leader. With the help of his connections with the royal family, Haig became lieutenant general in command of the first army corps in France and Belgium and was praised for his success in Ypres in 1914. Haig was to become known for his controversial ideas and tactics. At the end of World War One, 1918, Haig was praised by the public for being a courageous leader who lead Britain to victory. He was seen as a hero. However in the 1970’s, historians started to question Haig. Historian such as Alan Clarke started accusing Haig of being a Butcher. The opinion that Haig allowed too many men to die, unnecessarily has spread, and by the late 1970’ Haig’s reputation had been ‘slaughtered’. However to this day there are still many historians who support Haig and view him...