John Keegan, a modern military historian, suggests that Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to victory in the First World War. Is there sufficient evidence in Sources C to L to support this interpretation? U

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William Kennedy 11Y

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John Keegan, a modern military historian, suggests that Haig was an ‘efficient and highly skilled soldier who did much to lead Britain to victory in the First World War’. Is there sufficient evidence in Sources C to L to support this interpretation? Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain your answer.

When the Great War broke out in 1914, it took Europe by surprise. Britain was totally unprepared for the kind of war that broke out in Europe. There is some blame to be laid here, but I believe it cannot be fairly laid on the generals as this was not their agenda. Much of the bloodshed of the Great War, from the British point of view, stems from the lack of preparedness. The Army was very small and had the means to fight a continental war were missing – especially artillery shells. For the same reason, the munitions industry was very small and when the army expanded, the industry to support and arm the soldiers did not exist. This was not the fault of the generals although at some points the blame was squarely pointed at Haig. I do not think that he was the one to blame, because not only could no-one else have done any better, but there was not the means to do better than he did.

Source D depicts that Haig was a selfish man, he was arrogant and he believed that he was ‘the best for the job’. The comment at the bottom shows that he already knew that people would die; this is not the attitude to have when going into a war, especially one of this magnitude. The words “your country” leads me to believe that he was just playing a game. He did not think about the lives he had in his hands and just placed them where ever he felt like, regardless of what he thought might happen, whether they were to sacrifice themselves for another platoon or company, or whether they were actually going to play a vital role in the war effort. The quote marks around the “needs me”, lead me to believe that Haig was at least involved around the poster, this also implies that he was an arrogant man, and that he believed that without him, the country would not survive. This proves that Haig was an efficient and highly skilled soldier, as Britain would not accept any less in their fight for, eventually, their survival.

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Source E assists the fact that the commanding officers, the men who effectively ran the army, weren’t given the time needed to train and grow accustomed to their roles. “No training, however good, will enable victories to be won”, this makes the training seem pointless and that the best option would be to send them straight into the trenches and  get them battle hardy, as the only thing that would win the war would be experienced soldiers and the sacrifice of human lives. The two could not go hand in hand and if the experienced soldiers were killed, all ...

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