How useful are sources A, B and C to a historian studying the attitudes of British soldiers to their commanders during the First World War?

However there are limitations to the usefulness of this source. One limitation is the fact that as it is a cartoon we cannot tell how many soldiers had this view of their Generals. Also the source of this source is unknown; it may have been produced by a soldier or an individual in Britain. Another limitation is that the magazine ‘Punch’ was read by the more critical person. This source is however still a very valuable source as I believe that the attitude of the cartoon would have reflected the views of many soldiers in the war at this time, with the majority having lost a friend or relative during the war.

Source B also shows a negative opinion towards the Generals. The extract from ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ is taken from where the soldiers have just received news of them going over the top. Although the primary objective of this television programme was to make people laugh there are still some views portrayed about the Generals, ‘General ‘Insanity’ Melchitt invites you to a mass slaughter.’ This shows that soldiers thought the Generals had gone insane by sending them ‘over the top’. This line had the intention of making a joke about the Generals leadership during the war. The soldiers also had the view that millions of their fellow soldiers had died for no reason and that the generals did not care about the lives of soldiers, ‘after sitting here since Christmas 1914, during which millions of men have died and we’ve advanced no further than an asthmatic ant carrying some very heavy shopping.’

The main weakness of this source is that it was a comedy series therefore the historical accuracy may not be 100%. However although the main view is sarcastic I believe that the programme was portraying reality.

Source C shows the first support for the British Generals and the action that they took. In this source Earl Haig commends his father and the job that he did in the First World War. He believes that the decisions and the victories that his father accomplished helped bring the war to an end. Earl Haig says that ‘When the old soldiers who fought in the war were alive, I never heard a word of criticism from them.’ This could be true what he says but if a soldier was to under mind a General then he could be considered a traitor. This source is potentially the most accurate as Earl Haig would have had first hand accounts told to him by his father of what happened in his opinion. However Douglas Haig would not have told his son that he sent many. Despite the fact that this source does not comply with the views of many soldiers, I believe it would be a useful, although probably bias, source for historians to analyse.

Although all the sources have their weaknesses Source A shows a clear and concise view of what soldiers thought. Source C is the only one to show a positive view of the Generals and Earl Haig would have heard first hand accounts from his father. Therefore I put Source A and C as the most useful.Source B shares a similar view although the actual content is probably less accurate as it was intended to be comic. However this is probably the most influential and commonly known. Therefore I put Source B as the least accurate.