Was General Haig the Butcher of the Somme?

Some people have the view that British generals such as Haig were useless leaders. Famous sources like ‘O What a lovely War’, ‘Blackadder’ and ‘The Trench’ support this. However from the 1980s many military historians have challenged this interpretation and states that under Haigs leadership, Britain and her allies won the war from encouraging new weapons and military tactics. After Haigs death in 1918, historians blamed him for needless laughter of nearly 750,000 British soldiers on the Western Front and biographers pilloned him for his overconfidence, insensitivity and logical

The British launched The Battle of the Somme to achieve two objectives. The first and most important goal was to relieve pressure on the French Army at Verdun, and the second was to inflict as heavy a loss as possible on the German Armies. The Battle of the Somme had to be fought to save the French Army from the crucifixion of Verdun. The head of the French Army, General Fock, and some leading British commanders did not believe this battle would help, but political masters in London and Paris supported the campaign. For many years The Battle of the Somme received much criticism for the way the battle was fought based on the number of casualties.

The year was 1940; the world’s second great World War was in full swing, with Britain and Germany at the forefront. The fall of Britain’s closest ally, France, stunned the British Empire and threw it into disarray. Through the chaos, Winston Churchill emerged. Churchill would be an inspiring leader who was able to rally the entire nation in times of hardship. Through his leadership, the “British Bulldog” would face the Axis powers and come out victorious, as well as become a public hero for the British people. Yet, immediately after the war, Churchill did not return to the prime minister seat because of a shocking defeat in his re-election, despite his immense reputation he gained from the war. Though lauded by the British population for his prowess as a wartime leader, Churchill’s conservative politics were out of touch with a population ready for post-war relief and led to his defeat in the 1945 election.

The Battle of Fromelles was a horrific battle which didn’t help prevent the Battle of Somme. All the battle had done was make people very scared and worried about the Germans. The people who were majorly effected by this were the French British and Australia. The 5th Australian Division suffered 5,533 casualties, 1,547 61st British Division casualties and little less then 1,000 casualties for the Germans.

Well, to start off with the Battle of Somme was ultimately won by the Germans. This is so because they had the more powerful military. According to documents B and C the Germans won the first day of the Battle. In document C he says “the youth of England bled to death.” Describes machine gunfire. and how “Belt after belt was fired…”. I also think that the German won because the British had started the Battle and whoever starts it usually loses. From the beginning the British did not achieve a breakthrough that penetrated the German lines and, end the war. From my knowledge, the Germans were able to contain the British offensive with locally available reserves, but didn't transfer any troops. Also the British suffered extremely heavy casualties,

The battle of Somme took place during the 1st of July and the 18th of November 1916 in the region Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of Somme. It was during the time of the First World War that Newfoundland was still under the power of the British Empire. Britain declared war on Germany in August of 1914. This was the beginning of Newfoundland's first regiment. There was a great response from Newfoundland with many proud Newfoundlanders ready to serve in the war. There was such a huge demand that from a population of 240,000 that more than 12,000 people joined up for the regiment. When war had been declared an enormous amounts of soldiers were being killed and the rapid progression of military warfare such as tanks, grenades and mines were being introduced promptly in large numbers. In order to end this war, generals came up with the conclusion of making what they called the "Big Push" which was the joining of the British and French troops against enemy Germany. These troops would start the assault at the Somme. This would be the Battle of Somme near Beaumont Hamel that the first Newfoundland Regiment would partake in. On the morning of July 1st thousands of British and French troops marched towards No Man's Land, within half an hour of walking to their destination, the troops were dramatically decreasing in soldiers

In the fifteenth document we come across this British soldier describing the battle of the Somme, The young soldier, Christian Creswell Carver writes to his brother about the intensive warfare he faced. He illustrates the war by describing the sounds and views of what he sees on different occasions. He describes the sounds of gunfire over the trees as a noise exactly like a great wave. He depicts the battle as being swallowed up by the great wave and being spit up and washed even further away. He then speaks on the gas attacks he had to endure, describing it as a great cloud that formed into lines and slowly made its way to their trenches.

During the Somme entire pal’s battalions were wiped out, leading to an entire village losing their troops in the army at once. For example, at Accrington, where during one week 584 of 720 men were killed. To reduce this loss, the British army began putting men from the same area into different battalions, so that losses to a village or town were spread

The Battle of the Somme epitomizes the harsh realities of trench warfare for the Allies and represents the negligent battle planning and technological advancements that are associated with the stalemate of World War One. Trench warfare was common across the Western Front, with similar strategies being employed by both opposing sides. Sir Douglas Haig, one of the British coordinators for the Somme offensive is blamed with an offensive strategy destined for failure. The British offensive, an utter failure, resulted in a stalemate, which was common throughout World War One. The British development of the tank, while it eventually ended the horrendous stalemate, was ineffectively used during the Somme.

What I believe to be the most important historical inaccuracy to bring to light in Fussell’s book is in relation to his use of statistics about British casualties. Fussell writes, “even in the quietest times, some 7000 British men and officers were killed and wounded daily.” As Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson point out in their article Paul Fussell at War, points out that if Fussell’s statement about 7000 British men and officers being killed and wounded daily were true then over the course of the war there would be ten million British casualties. As the article goes on to explain, only five million men fought for the British army throughout the entire war, therefore Fussell’s initial statistic cannot be true. For the average reader this inaccuracy

In “The Face of Battle,” John Keegan analyzed the experiences of the individuals involved in the battles of the Somme and Waterloo; he thoroughly examined the advancements of industrialization in warfare and battle strategy between 1815 and 1916. The industrialization of modern warfare during the battle of the Somme, while progressive, was very much still in its experimental stages. While the inventions during this time period were later evolved into much more useful products, it seems as though the organized warfare in Waterloo was much more effective; the soldier’s mediocre training for the Somme was obvious in the chaotic events that occurred. While each battle was disastrous in their own ways, industrialization certainly improved means of warfare and the experience that the soldiers had.

Nearing the end of World War II and after the successful D-Day invasion by Allied Forces, Adolf Hitler would personally plan a counteroffensive he believed would turn the tied of the war in his favor and prevent his unconditional surrender. Historically known as the Battle of the Bulge, the Ardennes Counteroffensive, from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945, would showcase the power of a full-scale German offensive while highlighting the ingenuity and heart of the United States Army as they encountered a seemingly undefeatable foe.

Source 3 is a valid source as it is a newspaper front page that comes from the time of the Battle and offers the British perspective of the Battle. Once again this source draws

concluded that the joint actions of Gough and Plumer were in part of making the

In my opinion, I think GDH should not be called the butcher of the Somme. The evidence to support my point is that the soldiers were not professional soldiers as the men had voluntarily joined the army