Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig - War hero or butcher of the Somme?
Amy Gilmour 10SC Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig: War hero or butcher of the Somme? Many historians see the Somme as one of, if not the most, significant events of the war. The devastating casualties and deaths of the war left thousands without their loved ones, a whole generation was lost at the Somme. After the devastation of the war, many soldiers blamed Haig. It was thought that Haig's leadership was to blame for the tremendous amount of casualties and deaths of the Somme. The soldiers were thought to have followed their orders courageously, precisely and so that everything went exactly as planned, but they were let down by their leaders. However, many historians now believe that General Haig was not entirely to blame for the failure at the Somme, and that it was not a military disaster, but why? There are many arguments for General Haig being the butcher of the Somme, but also many for him being a hero. Firstly General Haig was in charge of the attack from the British on the first day of the Somme. This was a terrible failure. Many died due to Haig expecting the artillery to work much better than what it did. Barbed wire and areas of the enemy trenches were left fully intact therefore allowing enemies much more ease in setting up weapons to hold off attacks. The barbed wire was not destroyed mainly due to Haig rarely visiting the front line. If he had have visited
How far do you agree that the Revisionist Views (of the causes of the Korean war) is the most accurate?
Anna Thompson How far do you agree that the Revisionist Views (of the causes of the Korean war) is the most accurate? By 1950 the Korean War threatened to escalate a local war in a major international conflict. Since then there has been a constant debate on the invasion the south had the North. They argue if the invasion was a product of the communist bloc which was newly strengthened by china, and if it was attempting to spread its power. The question, what actually was the real cause of the Korean War is discussed by many historians and their views. These include Traditional, Revisionist, The local/international approaches and the significance of domestic products of Truman's foreign policy. Even though there are many approaches to the causes of the Korean war, The revisionist remains one the most accurate along with the traditional view. Revisionist view of the Korean war is different to those of the traditional and local approaches. They say argue that the Korean war was because of expansionist and aggressive actions by the forces of the world communism, ( as traditional views believe). Historian Kathryn Weathersby shows Stalin as being too cautious to risk escalation of conflict with the USA. This is backed up with some evidence from Khrushchev, who had memoirs which stated that Kim II sung, had informed Stalin of his decision but Stalin replied and said he should
Painting showing Douglas Haig in uniform
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861 - 1928) Douglas Haig 'Kill more Germans' summarised Haig's strategy as Commander in chief of the British forces in France during most of World War One. His war of attrition resulted in enormous numbers of British casualties and his leadership remains controversial. As a young officer, Haig fought in the Sudan, in the Boer War and held administrative posts in India. From 1906-1909 he was assigned to the War Office, where he helped form the Territorial Army and organize an expeditionary force for any future war in Europe. When war broke out in August 1914, Haig led the 1st Corps to northern France. In early 1915 he became commander of the 1st Army before succeeding Sir John French as commander in chief of the British Expeditionary Force in December. In 1916 Haig was responsible for the Battle of the Somme, which cost 420,000 British casualties over four months for minimal gain. The next year saw further stalemate: the US entered the war in April but the French command wanted to stay on the defensive until the first of the Americans arrived. This frustrated Haig, who was subordinate to the French general Robert Nivelle. From May he was given more authority and determined to defeat the Germans with a purely British offensive. The resulting Third Battle of Ypres from July to November 1917 (also called Passchendaele) saw further enormous
The North Korean Famine
Caroline Yi Professor Kent Political Science 315 March 7, 2004 Assignment E (Draft) The North Korean Famine The people of North Korea are going through a great catastrophic crisis. Millions of people are dying of hunger. This paper is about the North Korean famine. In a world with a great surplus of food, millions upon millions die of hunger. The advance technologies we have in today's societies allow the potential of eliminating world hunger, yet this horrible entity (hunger) still burdens people worldwide. Many ask the question, "how did this happen?" but the important question is "Who failed to stop the famine?" Although, bad weather, poor agricultural practices, and a halt in food subsidies from the Soviet Union and China were some of the causes of the famine, the real problem was the North Korean political system.1 Causes of the Famine In 1995, newspapers around the world reported about the North Korean government's announcement of severe flooding that had devastated its agricultural regions and that the subsequent crop failure had caused widespread food shortages.2 Although the crises seem to have stemmed from natural disaster, the North Korean government refuses to blame systemic causes. The problem was worsened by North Korea's who has, "stubbornly refused to make any systemic accommodation to the new economic and political order in the world, and
To what extent was involvement of USA in Korean War Different from its involvement in the Vietnam War?
To what extent was involvement of USA in Korean War Different from its involvement in the Vietnam War? In the 40´s onwards USA got interested in Asian affairs. Taking into account the fact that they were not defending themselves or any other American ally, they had to further extend territorial boundaries to fall on political-ideological frontiers. Indeed, they were defending its territory from enemies in a new scale: the fear against the developing communism over the world. In these lines, Korea and Vietnam portrayed two international hotspots now focused on Asia, as the stage within the fight of the two global powers: USA and the Soviet Union. Anyways, were the circumstances by which USA faced communism in both countries different? First of all, the background in South-East Asia determined in great scale American intervention in the area, since either country were occupied by other foreign powers: while Korea was under Japanese domination, Vietnam still remained part of the French empire (later becoming member of the French Union). The first case of Korea was already been the stage of the war between democracy and communism. USA was quite anxious since the conflict that had already happened in Germany and the one that was going on in Turkey and Greece, both cases falling under soviet beliefs. After the defeat of the Chinese Kuomintang in 1949, by communist Mao,
War: a feature of American society
War: a feature of American society War is a unique feature in American society. It is an institution that is entwined into the very nature of the American Republic. Our nation is a country that was birthed in a revolutionary spirit, and the spirit of war that was birthed during the Revolutionary War lives on today. Several times in our past, war was looked down upon as evil, and several large groups of people sought to end all war. They also sought to keep America out of wars in which our peace and security were not being threatened. In spite of these attacks, war is still an integral part of American culture; war is here to stay. Unless there is a change in human nature, war will always plague the human culture. An example as to why war is here is the persistence of the "myth" as Chad Cole put it. To understand this myth, one must look at several key events and wars that happened during the past 60 years. The five major wars are the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the Somalia Incident, and the Afghanistan Campaign. The first major war to look into is the Korean War. To really grasp the attitude of the American public at the time, one must first look at the situation just 5 years prior. On the 26th of June, the United Nations charter was signed. The purpose of the United Nations is outlined in the following quote taken from the preamble to the
General Douglas Haig Butcher or Hero?
General Douglas Haig Butcher or Hero? General Douglas Haig has been blamed for the slaughter of thousands of men who were under his control in World War One. The Battle of the Somme was one of the worst fights in the entire war and 55,000 British soldiers died in the first day alone. After the Battle of the Somme, Haig got the nickname "Butcher of the Somme." However after examining the battle in more detail, some people decided that he was a brilliant general who miscalculated, “a hero of the war”. So was Haig a butcher or a hero? Even at the time there were split views as to the moral standing of Haig. On one side you had the highly respected men who fought alongside him, but on the other you had the foot men (Tommies) and their families. Many of these men despised Haig, and arguably rightly so, but what is more important is why the hated him so much. General Haig didn’t get off to a very good start after sending a letter to a newspaper saying ‘this nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on the part of the higher commanders, no training, however good, on the part of officers and men, no superiority, however great, of arms and ammunition, will enable victories to be won without the sacrifice of men's lives’. This was basically declaring publicly that he did not care how many men were killed he just wanted to win. This probably did not affect
Review of The Douglas Company
Introduction: The Douglas Company was market leader in the field of aviation until the 1950's. Then, the Boeing Company proved to be a stiff competitor in the jet market, with its 707. Douglas was then taken over by Mc. Donnell Aircraft in 1967. General Dynamics' Convair Division was given the subcontract for structural design, where Mc Donnell Douglas had the primary authority to furnish design criteria and to amend decisions. This was done keeping solely profits in mind. Convair's role was to create a design that would satisfy the stipulated criteria. They were given the contract for building the fuselage and cargo doors. Mc Douglas stressed on using electric rather than hydraulic actuators to close the cargo doors, inspite of Convair being adamant that a hydraulic system was needed. As the leading manufacturer of aircrafts, Mc. Donnell Douglas took the responsibility for certification of the aircraft, as it had considerable clout in the FAA. In seeking the certification it maintained that all defects had been removed. The irony is that Convair was not responsible for any mishaps. Facts (in chronological order): Failure Mode and Effects Analysis was prepared by Convair and submitted to Douglas, which contained two defects in the design. This report was to be given to Federal Aviation Association. The FAA was managed by Douglas, and with total disregard for human life,
More often than not, superpowers, rather than causing regional conflicts, were reluctantly drawn into them." How far does your study of the Cold War in the period 1950-80 supports this view?
. "More often than not, superpowers, rather than causing regional conflicts, were reluctantly drawn into them." How far does your study of the Cold War in the period 1950-80 supports this view? The period of 1950 to 1980 saw the Cold War spread from the traditional playing field of Europe to other parts of the world. However it is quite clear that the USA and the Soviet Union played only a marginal role in originating these conflicts-at the most setting up the basic framework for it to occur. Furthermore, when they did get involved they each did so to varying degrees. The USA seemed to be much more motivated and interested in involving themselves, while the Soviet Union was more apprehensive. Therefore, to say that both superpowers "were reluctantly drawn into them (the conflicts)" is not completely true. To illustrate my point I will analyse the Korean and Vietnam wars. There is strong evidence to suggest that US entered the Korean War fairly voluntarily. Firstly, the US was motivated by strong security interests. They misperceived the North's invasion to be Soviet instigated and an attempt to spread communist ideology into Asia. Thus they felt they had to do something to prevent this spread of communism from materialising. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, US feared that if Korea fell to the communist it would be, as then Secretary of State put it, "a dagger
1999 Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas merger
999 Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas merger Merger of both companies was a no-brainer to bring in more profit and put like mind minds together to make fighting aircraft. Both were known for making military aircraft anyway so it worked out. For any negative issues dealt into the process most were mitigated mainly from the quality dealt in the product. Only negative issue could have been if the merger would actually bring in a profit. Very questionable after the big layoff of employees in the company during the time. Was a quick fix though for the profit brought in during the time, which turned out to be a success. Many employers could have anticipated a lot of negativity when the company had a big layoff. As I stated though above many people all over the world including rising countries in India and Asia were laying off people because lack of money at a low. When inflation sets in you have to make ends meet so you have to make the managing decisions to best represent the merger of the company. Even if some issues are not liked it is just the best decisions at the time to cover the expenses to bring in overhead profit. Most positive issues you get from the merging company are very positive from many sources. Even though the prices are steadily to high and are tagged on to people taxes and the government which is rather high for a company. Still though for positive aspect the company
