"Haig Fully Deserves His Reputation as
'Bungler and Butcher of the Somme.'
Explain how far you agree
With this statement.
Haig is one of the most controversial figures in world war one and the last century. Many think of his him as a national hero, where as others think of him a blundering fool who was not fit to lead an army. There is one thing that is not disputed though and this is the fact that he led 60,000 men to their deaths in the first few hours of the battle of the Somme this horrific especially considering the little land he gained.
The reason why Haig has a reputation as the 'Bungler and Butcher of the Somme' because of the fact that he seemed totally impassionate about the lives that had been lost. This is the reason why he had a reputation as a butcher. A source that suggests this is: " The nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on part of the higher commanders, no training, however good, on the part of the officers and the men, no superiority of arms and ammunition, however great will enable victories to be won with sacrifice of lives. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualties lists." This quote is from Sir Douglas Haig and was given before the battle of the Somme. This suggests that he was a butcher as he is saying that it doesn't matter that the allied armies have any superiority the inevitable fact of the matter is lives will be lost. So this shows that he didn't really care about the lives of his soldiers and also because it was before the battle of the Somme it shows that he was prepared to sacrifice the lives of his men. But some people would argue that although he was impassionate when it came to the lives of his men, he had to b otherwise he would be terrible at his job. If he wasn't impassionate he would defiantly be the wrong man for his job. It also suggests that Haig was really a very brave man, because he was telling and preparing the country for the losses that were inevitable because when fighting a war it would be ridiculous if a commander expected that hardly anyone would lose their lives If soldiers lives being lost help to determine whether a general was good or not then a think that we will find that we most probably we will never regard any general as good. Also the number of casualties in the war for Britain was not disproportional to the other participating armies. However the number of lives Haig was talking about could be questioned as in the battle of the Somme there were 60,000 casualties and this was in the first few hours, and Haig did not receive the amount of men he would have liked for the Somme offensive. "The simple truth of 1914-18 trench warfare is that the massing of large numbers of soldiers unprotected by anything but cloth uniforms, however they were trained, however equipped, against large masses of other soldiers, protected by earthworks and barbed wire and provided with rapid-fire weapons, was bound to result in heavy casualties among the attackers The realities of war are that people shall lose their lives." This is source is from John Keegan who is a very well respected world war one expert and defends the number of casualties that there were, however it could be argued that numbers he was talking about where not the numbers of casualties and deaths that were in the battle of the Somme. Some people will also say that he was also brave as he was prepared to take responsibility for the lives lost.
'Bungler and Butcher of the Somme.'
Explain how far you agree
With this statement.
Haig is one of the most controversial figures in world war one and the last century. Many think of his him as a national hero, where as others think of him a blundering fool who was not fit to lead an army. There is one thing that is not disputed though and this is the fact that he led 60,000 men to their deaths in the first few hours of the battle of the Somme this horrific especially considering the little land he gained.
The reason why Haig has a reputation as the 'Bungler and Butcher of the Somme' because of the fact that he seemed totally impassionate about the lives that had been lost. This is the reason why he had a reputation as a butcher. A source that suggests this is: " The nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on part of the higher commanders, no training, however good, on the part of the officers and the men, no superiority of arms and ammunition, however great will enable victories to be won with sacrifice of lives. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualties lists." This quote is from Sir Douglas Haig and was given before the battle of the Somme. This suggests that he was a butcher as he is saying that it doesn't matter that the allied armies have any superiority the inevitable fact of the matter is lives will be lost. So this shows that he didn't really care about the lives of his soldiers and also because it was before the battle of the Somme it shows that he was prepared to sacrifice the lives of his men. But some people would argue that although he was impassionate when it came to the lives of his men, he had to b otherwise he would be terrible at his job. If he wasn't impassionate he would defiantly be the wrong man for his job. It also suggests that Haig was really a very brave man, because he was telling and preparing the country for the losses that were inevitable because when fighting a war it would be ridiculous if a commander expected that hardly anyone would lose their lives If soldiers lives being lost help to determine whether a general was good or not then a think that we will find that we most probably we will never regard any general as good. Also the number of casualties in the war for Britain was not disproportional to the other participating armies. However the number of lives Haig was talking about could be questioned as in the battle of the Somme there were 60,000 casualties and this was in the first few hours, and Haig did not receive the amount of men he would have liked for the Somme offensive. "The simple truth of 1914-18 trench warfare is that the massing of large numbers of soldiers unprotected by anything but cloth uniforms, however they were trained, however equipped, against large masses of other soldiers, protected by earthworks and barbed wire and provided with rapid-fire weapons, was bound to result in heavy casualties among the attackers The realities of war are that people shall lose their lives." This is source is from John Keegan who is a very well respected world war one expert and defends the number of casualties that there were, however it could be argued that numbers he was talking about where not the numbers of casualties and deaths that were in the battle of the Somme. Some people will also say that he was also brave as he was prepared to take responsibility for the lives lost.
