Source based work on Haig.

Authors Avatar

Tim Vague 11F – History Coursework

HISTORY ASSIGNMENT 1: MODEL A2: HAIG

Question 1

Sources A, B and C could be fairly useful to an historian studying the attitudes of British soldiers to their commanders during the First World War. They all have positive values but they all also have limitations. Each source shows different attitudes and they all vary in what they say.


        Source A is taken from a British comedy magazine called “Punch” and shows one view of soldiers’ attitudes toward their generals. The cartoon is poking fun at Haig, basically by saying that the soldiers are all out fighting for their lives while the commanders (in this case Haig) are sat in nice cosy chateau’s 20 miles behind the front line. We have no knowledge of where this source was drawn, it could have been drawn by someone there at the time, or more likely it could have been drawn by someone back home. We also don’t know when or where the source was published, however I do know from my own knowledge that the magazine “Punch” was around during the First World War and so more than likely, the cartoon would have been published fairly near the time. The fact that it may have been published fairly near the time may, however, be irrelevant as the cartoon is only one persons view. I know from my own knowledge that not everyone felt the same way, and many people, including soldiers from the time, had a lot of respect for Haig. One soldier from the time was quoted saying “He looked the part, a real soldier all over”. This proves the fact that not all had the same view as the cartoon.

        
Source B is a quote taken from the British TV comedy “Blackadder Goes Forth” and is a sarcastic view of a fictional British general’s orders. Ben Elton who is a left wing writer, co-wrote the Blackadder TV programmes and his left wing views are shown in his programmes. His view is that Haig was wrong and this is reflected in his writing. This source gives one point of view and this is that the soldiers thought that the generals were insane! It is exaggerated for the reason that the show is a comedy and so it is made to be humorous. I know that this source has some truth in it as millions did lose their lives in the war. However, I also know that the first screening of “Blackadder Goes Forth” was in 1989 which is a long time after the war and so Elton would have got his information from somebody or somewhere as he wasn’t even born at the time of the war and he has to gain laughs so exaggerates.

Join now!


Source C is an article from The Daily Telegraph newspaper written by Earl Haig, the son of Field Marshall Haig. My expectation of this source was that it would be extremely biased as it was quoting Haig’s son. From studying the source I can see that my expectation was correct. It shows that a lot of people disliked Haig as Earl Haig is defending and praising his father and gives no criticisms of him at all. This is a limitation in the source. Another limitation is that it was published in the Telegraph in November 1998, which is a very ...

This is a preview of the whole essay