Haig – An Assessment

Career Born 1861, Edinburgh. Son of a whisky distiller. Educated at Clifton School, Oxford and Sandhurst. Army career: Cavalry officer fought in the Sudan and with distinction as a staff officer in the Boer War. Replaced Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief after the failure of the battle of Loos. Well-connected, married to a maid of honour to Queen Alexandra.

Career A deep-thinking person and very determined. Serious-minded Christian. Battle tactics: artillery bombardment to break defences; infantry to move under ‘creeping barrage’ to take the trenches. Poor relationship with Lloyd George, who was horrified at the high casualties.

Career Lloyd George attacked Haig in his memoirs (1936), causing huge damage to Haig’s reputation. This attack coincided with first books from authors unhappy with the war. As a result, Haig’s name became shorthand for military incompetence.

Historians’ opinions 1953: Major-General Sir John Davidson, Haig – Master of the Field. Defends ‘loyalty and imperturbability’. 1958: Leon Wolff, In Flanders Fields. Severe criticism of the Third Battle of Ypres. 1961: Alan Clark, The Donkeys. Characterised the British army as ‘lions led by donkeys’.

Historians’ opinions 1963: John Terraine, The Educated Soldier. Defence of Haig’s character and battle tactics; necessary to wear down the enemy and win the war. Haig’s Final Dispatch, 1919: ‘It is in the great battles of 1916 and 1917 that we have to seek for the secret of our victory in 1918’.

An assessment Different from the stereotype; ruthless and indifferent. Graduate of the army’s Staff College. Director of military training. At the centre of the thinking that created the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). Operational experience in the Sudan and the Boer War.

An assessment Commanded the Aldershot garrison and trained the troops that went to war as 1 Corps. Ambitious and exploited social connections; as did every other successful officer. Inherited stalemate situation, but orders were to defeat Germany.

An assessment Commanded an army learning as it went along, not professional soldiers. Decided on tactic of ‘big battles’. Only other tactic, ‘bite and hold’, still would have had high casualty rates. Over optimistic that the battles of 1916–7 would achieve a breakthrough. Army lacked the troops and firepower to achieve a breakthrough.

An assessment Attacks probably continued for too long. Some attacks, eg the Somme, continued to help allies. Haig could be difficult and touchy, but was not out of touch with his soldiers. Mental toughness to order men into battle. Central role in creating the British Legion and Earl Haig Fund – work that helped lead to an early heart attack.