Douglas Haig 1861 1928

For seventy years Douglas Haig had been portrayed on the one hand as the ‘Butcher of the Somme’ – inept, insensitive and archaic; and on the other as the ‘Saviour of Britain’ – noble, unselfish and heroic. This polarised, strident and ultimately inconclusive argument had resulted in Haig becoming detached from his own persona; he had become a shallow symbol of a past age to be pilloried or praised. The middle ground in the Haig debate had been as barren as No Man’s Land. There should be no mystery about Haig. Certain from a very early age of his own greatness, he preserved every record of his achievements: diaries, letters, official reports etc. The opinions of his contemporaries are likewise readily available. But until this book the material had not been used to construct a complete and accurate picture. Critics and supporters have raided the historical records for evidence of the demi-god or demon and have ignored that which conflicts with their preconceptions. They have likewise raced through his early life in order to get to the war, in the process ignoring the complex process of his development as a soldier. Analyses of Haig’s command have consequently been as shallow as the prevailing images of the man. After eight years of painstaking and detailed research into previously neglected sources, Gerard De Groot gave us a more complete and balanced picture. This book, originally published in 1988, which will appeal both to the general and the specialised reader, is not simply a critique of Haig’s command in the war, but an exploration into his personality. Close attention to his early life and career reveals him as a creature of his society, a man who mirrored both the virtues and the faults of Edwardian Britain. What emerges is an intense, dedicated, but ultimately flawed servant of his country whose ironic fate it was to grow up in one age and to command in another.

As a young officer in the prestigious 21st Lancers (motto 'Death or Glory') Douglas Haig played a leading role in Kitchener's bold expedition which ended in the defeat of the Khalifa of Sudan at Omdurman. He described the action, as he did the whole campaign, vividly in words and diagrams which survived virtually untouched at the family home Bemersyde in the Borders. These letters and diaries allow the reader to trace Haig's career and developing character. What they reveal may well surprise his critics. Field Marshal Lord Haig will remain a hugely controversial figure due to his pre-eminent role during The Great War. He was a hugely popular public figure in the post WW1 years and revered by those who served under him. His death in 1928 was a major occasion for mourning. Only later was he heavily criticised for the slaughter of the trenches.

As a young officer in the prestigious 21st Lancers (motto Death or Glory) Douglas Haig played a leading role in Kitcheners bold expedition which ended in the defeat of the Khalifa of Sudan at Omdurman. He described the action, as he did the whole campaign, vividly in words and diagrams which survived virtually untouched at the family home Bemersyde in the Borders.These letters and diaries allow the reader to trace Haig's career and developing character. What they reveal may well surprise his critics.Field Marshal Lord Haig will remain a hugely controversial figure due to his preeminent role during The Great War. He was a hugely popular public figure in the post WW1 years and revered by those who served under him. His death in 1928 was a major occasion for mourning. Only later was he heavily criticized for the slaughter of the trenches.

Field-Marshal Haig commanded the British Empire forces through from 1915 to 1919; his period in charge of the men under his command has been the subject of much debate ever since the First World War ended. To some he was a “Butcher” overseeing the bloodbaths of the Somme and Passchendaele, to others he was a stoic leader faced with almost insurmountable difficulties of the warfare of the age. Whichever opinion holds sway in the public psyche, his despatches from the front, are gripping reading that drive to the heart of his character. Often fulsome of praise for the men under his command, Haig was reticent to give vent to failures in public; the despatches are very revelaing, whilst capturing all of the swings of fortune on the Western Front. Author — Field-Marshal Earl Haig, Douglas, 1861-1928. Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in London, J.M. Dent & sons ltd.; 1919. Original Page Count – xvii and 378 pages Illustrations — 10 maps and Illustrations.

Originally published in 1935, this is the first volume of the autobiography of Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861-1928), who commanded the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front from late 1915 until the end of WWI. He was commander during the Battle of the Somme, the Third Battle of Ypres, and the Hundred Days Offensive, which led to the armistice of 11 November 1918. Written with access to Earl Haig's fulsome dairies that he kept throughout the First World War, noted biographer Duff Cooper, gives a rare and in-depth look at the head of the British war effort on the Western Front.

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928) took command of the BEF on 19th December 1915, replacing Sir John French who had been in command since the outbreak of war. During the previous ten years Haig had been successively Director of Military Training, Director of Staff Duties (very much involved with the S of S for War, Haldane, in his reforms that led to the formation of the TF and the BEF), Chief of Staff, India and from March 1912, GOC in C Aldershot Command, which consisted of 1st and 2nd Infantry Divisions. On mobilization this became I Corps which he took to France in August 1914. His corps was scarcely touched by the Battle of Mons (40 out of a total 1,600 casualties), but suffered severely at First Ypres. At the end of 1914 First and Second Armies were formed with Haig commanding the First. 1915 was a bad year for the BEF, First Army conducting several unsuccessful offensives culminating in the Battle of Loos. French s despatch describing the battle was challenged by Haig who maintained that the GHQ Reserve was put at his disposal significantly later than stated in the despatch; Haig made his complaint in writing. A few weeks later French resigned command of the BEF and, on 19 December 1915 Haig became C in C. On 1st January 1917 he was promoted to Field Marshal. The book contains the eight despatches covering Haig s command from 19th December 1915 to 21st March 1919, but the Government, then led by Lloyd George, no fan of Haig s, insisted on the deletion of certain passages before granting permission to publish. These deletions, indicated in the text by asterisks, were made in the Despatches of 25 December 1917 and 20 July 1918 and relate to the Third Ypres offensive (commonly known as Passchendaele) and to the BEF manpower shortages of early 1918 which led to divisions being reduced from twelve to nine battalions plus the pioneer battalion. This new edition publishes all those deleted passages in a special Preface and also, in two instances where the Government actually inserted its own words, gives the original text.

There's a commonly held view that Douglas Haig was a bone-headed, callous butcher, who through his incompetence as commander of the British Army in WWI, killed a generation of young men on the Somme and at Passchendaele. On the other hand, there are those who view Haig as a man who successfully struggled with appalling difficulties to produce an army which took the lead in defeating Germany in 1918. Haig's diaries, hitherto only previously available in bowdlerised form, give the C-in-C's view of Asquith and his successor Lloyd George, of whom he was highly critical. The diaries show him intriguing with the King vs. Lloyd George. Additional are his day-by-day accounts of the key battles of the war, not least the Somme campaign of 1916.