The attack was set for 29th June and, for about three weeks before this; every available British gun was brought to the Front so that finally there was one gun for every seventeen yards of enemy front line. Artillery fire began 7 days before the Somme offensive. It was thought by most of the officers that there would be little or no resistance on the day of the attack. This at first seemed to be a good plan but it gave a false sense of security and Haig was so sure that the plan would work he did not have a back up plan. This then proved to be one of the major factors in the war as he did not know what to do when the plan did not unfold. This was very important and shows Haig to not have thought thoroughly about the long term issues.
The Germans had been alerted by the intelligence patrols and artillery bombardments. They sheltered in their dugouts, 30-40 feet below the ground, and waited. They had to be patient and had to be quiet. The Germans were very disciplined and would not give up easily. One of the key elements of the artillery barrage was to cut the enemy wire entanglements. This would allow the men to advance quickly across no mans land. This too proved to be mostly a failure and created a queue of men, making them easy targets as they could not get through and were clumped together. Haig could have avoided all this as he was told before and during the onslaught that the artillery was just not working and was just lifting up the barbed wire. This showed bad leadership as he was obviously aware of the situation, ignored it and sent many men to their deaths. This also shows Haig not to have a back up plan. This tells me that this was not thought out fully and adequate research was not completed, this proves Haig to be a bit jumpy and wanted to get the war won quickly and without using men, this could also mean that he did not have much faith in his troops. This to me links in with the fact that Haig did not have a back up plan as he did ot know what to do with his men. This presents a severe injustice to the solders who were mainly not trained solders and were just normal villagers and Haig sent them over the top with picks and spades. This is not sensible or correct whichever way you look at the matter. If you can not trust your soldiers then you should not be in the battle and you certainly should not be leading the army.
Haig also gave the Germans a advantage when the artillery stopped: he let off 90 mines that had been dug underground near the German bunkers. They exploded and this dazed and confused the Germans but the more experienced solders were ineffective. Then Haig made his mistake as he ordered his troops to go over the top. Their signal was a whistle, when it blew the Germans knew what it meant and sprang out of there bunkers and mowed down the Germans with their machine guns which they set up rapidly. Haig also made the decision to help the French at Verdun where they were also getting attacked by the Germans and Haig had to send some of his men, which surely would have handicapped his other forces.
Haig was also not on the battlefield he was sat in a luxury castle and enjoying life. He was not at the battle with his men. This would have many consequences on the British troops and on the battle itself as If Haig was not seeing what was going on then he would not have been able to make any tactical decisions. This tells me that either Haig was very confident of his plan of working or he was scared or he did not have his heart fully in the job.
Haig underestimated the German efficiency, as he did not realise their capabilities of setting up as quick as they did. He also had his priorities all over the place and was not completely focused on the battle. He sent his men over the top with picks and spades as he thought there would be no Germans left. This again was underestimating and not fully recognising the potential of the German forces. Haig also had a large amount of tanks, which should have been used in a concentrated attack. Instead Haig used them dribbling and they were took out. This again is a misuse of technology and is a key factor in Britian not making any advances. If Haig had used them how they should have been used then again this was a chance for him to be a hero. Could this be another link to him ignoring reconnaissance, as people in the army wwould have known how to use them? In addition, it could maybe link to the fact that he did not have much experience and would have that same self-knowledge.
My next paragraph is going to defend Haig. The casualties at the Somme were heavy, but only by the standards of previous British wars. British casualties at the Somme were similar to the losses which German, Austrian, Russian and French troops had suffered in many of the battles of 1914-15. This battle had such a huge impact on Britain because Britain had never fought in a war like this before. Most of Britain's wars had been wars in the empire or battles at sea. In both cases, casualties tended to be relatively low.
There is a lot of evidence to prove that all of the death was Haig’s fault. First, it is a war, people are going to be killed all the time and if you enter that situation, you can expect to take the risks. One more point is that if you are talking about the battle as a failure, can you really say that. Was it a complete massacre for Britain? The answer is no and in the end no one won the battle of the Somme it remained as a stalemate as trench war inevitably does. Carrying on from my last statement no one had broken the stalemate in trench warfare therefore it is unrealistic to expect Haig to do so. It was so hard to win as: the trenches were dug in zigzags and roofed by barbed wire which were designed for defence and not for people to go over the top. Morale was also hit hard as 1000 people a week died with the illness of trench foot. No one wants to be in a battle and this would be heightened with the lack of morale and threat of imminent death. This could link in to the fact that such a lot of people died on the first day as people would not have been in 100% physical and mental condition. This would have led to less concentration and more deaths. People could maybe have took their own lives as they would not have wanted to suffer any longer if they were wounded and laying in no mans land.
A main reason why the British failed to take over the Germans land is that the Germans had the higher ground and in any war, this is an advantage as they can see the whole battlefield and the opposition have to work harder to get to the top of the battlefield. In the Somme, the British had the harder task. This links in with the fact that the Germans took so many lives when the British came over the top as they had full vision of them and they would have been like sitting ducks.
The timetable of the artillery fire was also dictated by the need to relive the French at Verdun. Haig also could not rely on his weapons and technology, as 1/3 of the artillery fired were duds. This could cause a major problem to the British forces as they did not have the same power and the effects of the attack would have not have been on the same magnitude. This maybe is a possible link to the fact that the Barbed Wire could not be cut. This would have affected the British offensive as they did not have their full array of weapons and they would have been limited in their attack. If the barbed wire had been cut then Haig would have been a hero and the men would have got through.
Haig also had a problem, as he did not know the Germans had anticipated his plan and had hid underground. The artillery you could say was wasted and the Germans did not take that many casualties and depleted the British supplies. The war at Verdun is an issue, which I think is key to the loss of life at the Somme as it links in with everything. The fact that the bombing had to be dictated by this gave the Germans chance to hide and also it took men away from the British camp so Haig did not have his full power. Because the timetable was adjusted this maybe gave the Germans more time to prepare for a attack on them and they had more time to get ready and set up their camp underground and mange to get all the equipment down rather than just half.
Haig could not be blamed for a failure either as no ground was lost in the battle. Haig took control of some of the German land but the Germans had been ordered not give up nay land to the British.
On the evidence I have presented, I feel that there can still not be a decision whether to give Haig 100% of the blame. There are numerous reasons that it is not his fault. These include I think the fact that the Germans had the high ground and the German forces are far more equipped and disciplined than Haig ever imagined. This cannot be used as an excuse though as you should recognize who you are fighting. This may perhaps again be down to bad leadership or his information is not fully investigated. There are many issues like that, which need to be analysed further to discover the truth regarding Haig’s leadership. I cannot defend Haig as there is a strong point concerning my last issue that Haig ignored reconnaissance when he was doing his artillery bombing. This could link in with the fact that Haig did not understand the Germans.
Again, I am going to say that there is no clear decision of whether to blame Haig but on the balance of the arguments I do feel stronger towards the side which says Haig is not to blame. Purely because Haig was not fully concentrated on the war as the French had distracted him and his plans at Verdun and the Germans had the higher ground in the Battle. With hindsight, we can see that Haig made mistakes and the first day of the Somme was a disaster. However, we also have to look at the limited options open to him. He was told to relieve Verdun and this meant attacking the Germans. Haig made mistakes by altering Rawlinson's plan, but he could not foresee that 30% of the British shells would fail to explode. Haig was criticised for sending men to capture enemy trenches, but no politician or military leader came up with any alternatives in 1916. It is very telling that most people at the time did not share the hostility later expressed towards Haig.