3)
Source H is a description of the first day at the battle of the Somme by a former soldier who took part in it. It was written 55 yrs after the battle in which he has had time to reflect on it and therefore, it is quite reliable as he has also had first hand experience. There is a slight chance of the time gap making this source unreliable as he might of forgotten about the details of the event, but this is unlikely as the realities of war would of not escaped his mind. Source I has stills from the film- The Battle of the Somme which shows various pictures describing the experiences, It shows us how muddy it was on the fields and how harsh conditions were. One still has the image of soldiers running towards barbed wire mesh, trying to find an opening, and the corpse of a mutilated soldier stuck. The others show how the soldiers were determined and patriotic amongst the hard conditions ready and willing to fight at all costs, although they were injured and tired. To answer the question over which source would be more helpful as evidence of what it was like would mean surveying the reliability and bias of both sources. Source I can be seen as a biased source, because the British government released this film to show people back home how determined their troops were. Ultimately this film was a piece of propaganda, hiding the reality. Although the British government tried to boost morale back home with this film, some viewers would of felt a sense of dismay as it shows how harsh the war had become. Therefore Source H- I think is more useful as his account was experienced first hand, and is not really biased because of his real views.
4)
British casualties on the first day were 20,000 dead and more than 35,000 wounded – probably more than any army in any war on a single day. The British soldiers at the Somme were not conscripts – they were volunteers, who had flocked to join up in response to Kitcheners ‘Your country needs you’ poster. In the First World War, men from the same town served together in the same regiment; now they were killed together. Despite the setback of the first day, Haig (in his HQ in the château at Valvion, 50 miles behind the lines) was still confident. He continued the attacks for four more months. He made a major attack, following the same plan, and with the same results, in September. These facts have lead many to believe that Haig was a butcher and he did not care about his troops lives. Although this may be the case, it still begs the question, was he a good commander? If you analyzed his objectives and if he achieved them the answer would probably be yes. This is because in source c it clearly shows that his objectives were to secure Pozierzes ridge and to relieve the pressure on Verdun. Haig and his troops achieved these objectives although they suffered heavy causalities-and that is most probably why many people believe he was a bad commander. Also some modern television programmes mimic Haig as a bad general. For example, the comedy series Blackadder Goes Forth continually . In this scene, Blackadder tried to persuade Haig to get him out of the Big Push, while Haig (played by Geoffrey Palmer) plays war games with toy soldiers:
Blackadder: (winds the telephone) Hello? Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, please.
(Haig picks up and is looking over a model of the battlefield.)
Blackadder: Hello, Sir Douglas.
Haig: Good lord! Blacky! (knocks down an entire line of model soldiers)
Blackadder: Yes, sir.
Haig: I haven't seen you since... (knocks down the second line of model soldiers on the same side)
Blackadder: '92, sir -- Mboto Gorge. And do you remember...?
Haig: My god, yes. You saved my damn life that day, Blacky.
Blackadder: Well, exactly, sir. And do you remember then that you said that if I was ever in real trouble and I really needed a favour that I was to call you and you'd do everything you could to help me?
Haig: (sweeps the fallen soldier models into a dustpan) Yes, yes, I do, and I stick by it. You know me -- not a man to change my mind.
Blackadder: No -- we've noticed that.
Haig: So what do you want? Spit it out, man. (hurls the dead platoon over his shoulder)
Blackadder: Well, you see, sir, it's the Big Push today, and I'm not all that keen to go over the top.
However this scene cannot be seen as a very reliable piece of information for Historians as it is not really trying to make a point, but instead entertaining people through the popular belief that Haig was a complete joke who threw away lives.