1918
Source B is a poster of Haig pointing to himself saying ‘your country needs me’ this is very sarcastic then underneath it says ‘like a hole in the head which is what most of you are going to get’ this is very critical of Haig’s leadership as it is saying we are all going to die with ‘a hole in the head’ if we join Haig’s army also it criticises Haig by saying that he is useless and is doing nothing to help Britain win the war and that he is losing Britain the war and it is because of him more British soldiers are dieing it is partly his fault by using a tactic that encourages manslaughter the tactic was attrition (keep bombing the enemies trenches). Also, source A is a complete contrast from source b because source A doesn’t mention any bad points but source B does. It shows Haig is to blame for all the British casualties which most facts and various historians agree with this because Haig’s tactic attrition which on a number of times failed. Haig’s biggest failure was his incapability to change his orders.
Source C is split into 3 main points firstly Haig is talking about how the nation cannot bear to have losses and it is a fact in every war or battle no matter who has the most men or best training or best weapons there will be casualties on both sides. This shows that Haig is a bad leader and is embarrassed of the British army and is expecting heavy death counts. Secondly Haig is talking about how high the morale is and soldiers are saying ‘they have never before been so instructed and informed of the nature of the operation before them’ Haig shows his confidence and the confidence of his army by saying ‘the men are in splendid spirits’ however Haig may have been misinformed again because any soldier would be nervous and a bit scared the day before a battle. Lastly Haig talks about how the first attack of the battle and that it ‘all went like clockwork’ and that ‘the Germans are surrendering freely’ but if this was true then Britain would have gained more land so once again it seems Haig was misinformed.
Source D is a piece of writing by historian Anthony Livesey it is very different from the other 3 because this one tries to talk about Haig in a fair way with good and bad points Anthony Livesly tells us that Haig was a good soldier and the only problems he had were in his character Haig was ‘ambitious and had great self-confidence’ which probably led to the failures at the Somme and Passchendaele. Anthony Livesey also mentions about how Haig’s greatest failing was ‘often misplaced optimism’ which was because he was getting misinformed about what was happening at the battles.
Source E is written by the prime minister of the time David Lloyd George and is a biased view of the battle of the Somme he says that Haig is a coward because he sent a million people to their death and that and that Haig deserved the criticisms he got and that Haig was misinformed because he had said to Lloyd George that he would not continue to attack if he could not attain his objectives.
Source F is biased in Haig’s favour as Haig’s family asked Duff Cooper to write his biography it is true that if Britain had refused to fight on the Somme the French connections would no longer exist. However just because Haig was in charge doesn’t mean he relived Verdun.
Source G is written in 1918 by a historian named S.Warburton for GCSE studies. Source G is a bit pro-Haig but tries to balance it out by trying to be fair. Warburton writes that blaming Haig for all the failures in the war is a bit harsh also he believes that there wasn’t a ‘better man for the job’ an also a German officer called the battle field ‘a muddy German grave’ all this shows Haig in a better light however he says that ‘Haig’s numerous mistakes contributed to half a million casualties’ Warburton gives a fair account but seems to want to be pro-Haig and support his abilities due to his ‘military experience’
In conclusion some sources are pro-Haig some are against Haig and some are very fair sources A, C and F are very pro-Haig A and C are written by Haig himself and source A is written by Haig to save his job from the prime minister who was very critical of Haig and source F is influenced by his family so obviously it is not going to be critical of him. However sources B and E are against Haig. Source B is drawn by an unknown artist and is very critical of Haig it says he is going to get all the British soldiers killed and source E is part of Lloyd George’s memoirs and during the time of the war Lloyd George became very critical of Haig because he thought that his job would also be on the line because he gave Haig so many men. But sources D and G are very fair. Source D and G are written by historians to have no reason to be biased for or against Haig but the historian who wrote source G wants to be pro Haig but he makes it fair by adding Haig’s bad points to his article