Does Haig Deserve the Title "The Butcher of the Somme"?

the river Somme.  Haig had intended to clandestinely attack the Germans. However German reconnaissance planes had been observing the incoming British troops and weapons. This granted the Germans a great benefit in the battle. If Haig had been more secretive during the transportation of the war materials his plans of attack would have been concealed to the Germans. The attack was preceded by an eight-day preliminary bombardment of the German lines, beginning on Saturday 24th of June and ending on the 1st of July. The expectation was that the ferocity of the bombardment would entirely destroy all forward German defences, enabling the attacking British troops to practically walk across No Man’s Land and take possession of the German front lines from the battered and dazed German troops. 1,500 British guns, together with a similar number of French guns, were employed in the bombardment. Meanwhile the German troops rested behind their front line in well-built, 12 deep meter dug outs. The British bombardment had caused minimal damage to the German soldiers. The barbed wire was not destroyed as the bombardment had only lifted it and it was instantly dropped in a worse twist state than it was in before. These problems could have been avoided if General Haig had visited the battlefield as he was not experienced in trench warfare. After seven days of bombardment Haig ordered his troops to advance at a steady pace and in close order. Just as the barrage stopped the German troops took position in their front line trenches. By stopping the bombardment, Haig indirectly alerted the German troops to return to their positions on the battlefield. On the day of the battle there was considerable confusion. Some units were not ordered to attack while others were forced to retreat. Haig’s tactics had ruined the conditions of the battlefield; the ground had been shot into quagmire and troops were expected to cross over it and provide their own cover against the enemy’s retaliation. No Man’s Land contained shell holes that were filled with poisonous gases and parts of dead soldiers blocked the path to the front line. For the minute number of soldiers that had ultimately crossed No-Mans Land the entangled barbed wire stood as another obstacle. This again shows Haig’s under-estimation of the Germans and his ignorance of trench warfare. By dusk of the 1st of July 57,470 allied soldiers had been injured or killed. However Haig felt no reason to change his tactics as he rested at a grand chateau in a distant village. If Haig had been closer to the battlefield he would have noticed the severe casualties among his soldiers and he could have changed his methods of attacks. Haig knew that the battle would lead to massive numbers of dead. He had earlier announced in a speech “the nation must be taught to bear losses. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualty lists.” This indicates that Haig did not care about the lives of his soldiers as long as it led to victory. Haig’s disrespect towards his soldiers is also indicated by the fact that he was in the best accommodation while his men were covered in blood and dirt. In September the tank was introduced to the war. Fifty tanks were launched but only twenty-one reached the battlefield. Whilst they achieved a large element of surprise when sprung upon the German opposition, these early tanks proved unwieldy and highly unreliable as the tanks sunk into the marshy ground. If Haig had listened to the advice of military experts this loss of tanks would not have occurred. Although Haig’s strategy and tactics appear to be the main reason for the great loss of the Battle of the Somme he is not fully responsible for it. This is because reports of the battle that were sent to Haig made him believe that his tactics were a great success. Haig did not realise the great fatalities of the battle until after a considerable amount of time. Haig was also not knowledgeable about trench combat as he was specialized in cavalry warfare. I therefore think that it is not entirely Haig’s fault, as he was appointed General by the government. By November both sides had been devastated. Hundreds of thousands of allied and German soldiers had been injured or killed. The allies had lifted the pressure off Verdun and advanced 15km. This was a small advance at a huge cost. Haig allowed his soldiers to live in appalling conditions while he lived in a luxurious castle in a far away town. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig’s determination to win the war is not in doubt. His lack of experience of trench warfare made him a poor choice to command the army in this situation. Nevertheless, he appeared to ignore other possible strategies and he pursued his aims without concern for the lives of either his men or the conditions in which they had to fight. His decisions resulted in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of men.     MY VERDICT: Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig deserves the title      “THE BUTCHER OF THE SOMME”