General douglas haig battle of the somme. Battle of the Ancre 2022-10-21
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General Douglas Haig was a British Army officer who served as the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) during World War I. One of the most controversial figures of the war, Haig is most commonly remembered for his leadership of the BEF during the Battle of the Somme, which took place between July and November 1916.
The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest and most costly battles of World War I, with over one million casualties on both sides. The goal of the battle was to break the stalemate on the Western Front and push the German army back, but it ultimately ended in a costly and inconclusive victory for the Allies.
Haig's strategy for the battle was based on the belief that a massive artillery barrage would weaken the German defenses, allowing the Allied infantry to break through and achieve a decisive victory. However, this strategy did not work as planned, and the artillery barrage did not have the desired effect on the heavily fortified German positions.
As a result, the Allied infantry suffered heavy casualties as they attempted to advance across no man's land. Haig faced criticism for his leadership during the battle, with many blaming him for the high number of casualties and the lack of progress made.
Despite this criticism, Haig remained a steadfast supporter of his tactics and believed that the war could only be won by wearing down the enemy through attrition. He argued that the Battle of the Somme was a necessary step towards victory, and that the high casualties were a necessary evil.
In the end, the Battle of the Somme did not achieve its goal of breaking the stalemate on the Western Front. However, it did have a significant impact on the course of the war, as it drained the German army of its resources and weakened its morale.
Despite the controversy surrounding his leadership, General Douglas Haig remains a significant figure in the history of World War I and the development of modern warfare. His legacy continues to be debated by historians, with some seeing him as a competent military leader who made difficult but necessary decisions, while others view him as a reckless and incompetent commander who needlessly sacrificed the lives of his soldiers.
Was Douglas Haig Really “The Butcher of the Somme”?
More important than this gain in territory was the fact that the barrier which for seven weeks the enemy had maintained Against our further advance had at last been broken. When told of this Joffre shouted at Haig that "the French Army would cease to exist" and had to be calmed down with "liberal doses of 1840 brandy". The battle changed the nature of the offensive on the Somme, as French divisions were diverted to Verdun, and the main effort by the French diminished to a supporting attack for the British. The heroic defence of our French Allies had already gained many weeks of inestimable value and had caused the enemy very heavy losses; but the strain continued to increase. Neither of these enemy attacks succeeded in delaying the preparations for the major operations which I had in view. The strategy of attrition warfare means that you try to wear down your enemy to the point of defeat by continuously attacking their forces and equipment until they become exhausted and cannot continue.
Was General Haig to Blame for so Many Deaths at the Battle of the Somme? Essay Example
In November the strength of the enemy in the western theatre of war was greater than in July, notwithstanding the abandonment of his offensive at Verdun. On these days the reduction of La Boisselle was completed after hard fighting, while the outskirts of Contalmaison were reached on the 5th July. It had now become evident, however, that Guillemont could not be captured as an isolated enterprise without very heavy loss, and, accordingly, arrangements were made with the French Army on our immediate right for a series of combined attacks, to be delivered in progressive stages, which should embrace Maurepas, Falfemont Farm, Guillemont, Leuze Wood and Ginchy. Burke's Peerage Genealogical Books. So there was no need to run, why run when you could walk? Tommy: The British Soldier on the Western Front. Either way, his offensives resulted in more Allied than German casualties and an enduring debate over generalship in the context of total war.
What generals were involved in the battle of Somme?
At the end of the war, after all, the army he commanded—and had almost ruined—was, if not victorious, then plainly on the winning side. Why was General Haig blamed for the failure of the Somme? First of all, Haig had planned the Battle of the Somme to be one of the most important of the many battles of World War 1. Source B2 is reliable because of the fact that it was written during the Somme so because of that it is a Primary source. On our eastern flank, on the other hand, it was important to gain ground. To meet this difficulty many wells and borings were sunk, and over one hundred pumping plants were installed.
However, he accepted that the War Cabinet must ultimately make the decision, and according to Lloyd George "put up no fight for Robertson" and was contemptuous of Derby's threats to resign — he persuaded him not to do so after Robertson was pushed out. It was clear that victory on the Western Front was nowhere in sight and planners feared that German industry would not be able to keep up with demand. By these means many gains were made which, though small in themselves, in the aggregate represented very considerable advances. He wanted to wait until later in the year and attack in Flanders not the Somme. However, Haig displayed He was created Earl Haig in 1919 and worked after the war to assist men who had served in it.
But the outcome, too often, was British operations directed towards unrealizable objectives and persisted in long after they had ceased to serve any worthwhile purpose. However, General von Falkenhayn massively overestimated the German ability to inflict disproportionate losses on the French. The nature of the ground limited the possibility of direct observation by our artillery fire, and we were consequently much dependent on observation from the air. This, however, did not lessen the pressure on Verdun. Western Front casualties July—December 1916 Month No. The battalion pushed on then withdrew slightly to Station Road.
Many of the enemy were driven into their dugouts and surrendered, and at 9. Haig died at the age of 66 on January 29, 1928. When the attack began, it would provide a creeping barrage behind which the infantry could advance. While some have been more fortunate than others in opportunities for distinction, all have done their duty nobly. In that time Allied forces advanced 12km and suffered 420,000 British and 200,000 French casualties. The cavalry, of course, would carry the day. In swinging up my own right it was very important that the French line north of the Somme should be advanced at the same time in close combination with the movement of the British troops.
Haig's preference was to regain control of the Belgian coast by attacking in Flanders, to bring the coast and the naval bases at Bruges, Zeebrugge and Ostend a view also held by the Cabinet and Admiralty since 1914 into Allied hands and where the Germans would also suffer great loss if they were reluctant to retreat. This proves that Haig did deserve the nickname because he did…. The attack by the 63rd Division on Beaucourt was to begin 200 minutes after zero, preceded by a bombardment from all available artillery. Our troops immediately returned to the attack, and drove him out again with heavy losses. The idea originally came from the French Commander-in-Chief called Joseph Joffre and Haig accepted it.
By this time, too, the ground had already become so bad that nothing less than a prolonged period of drying weather, which at that season of the year was most unlikely to occur, would suit our purpose. He thought the Somme "a welter of slaughter which … left the Allied armies weaker in relation to the Germans than when it began". The troops attacking close to the right bank of the Aricre reached their second objectives to the west and north-west of Beaucourt during the morning, and held on there for the remainder of the day and night, though practically isolated from the rest of our attacking troops. Haig gained the title of the butcher of the Somme after the end of World War One, due to the indescribable amount of casualties and deaths that took place. North of the Ancre such preparations were to be made as would hold the enemy to his positions, and enable the attack to be resumed there later if desirable. In the course of this struggle portions of the wood changed hands several times; but we were left eventually, on the 13th July, in possession of the southern part of it. For this reason, Haig was a donkey.
Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig: World War I's Worst General
The men are in splendid spirits. By the end of the battle in November 1916, though heavily bloodied, the Tommies of the British Expeditionary Force BEF were "battle hardened warriors, capable of tactical sophistication and were beginning to lay the groundwork of the all-arms battles of 1918". Before midday Montauban had been carried, and shortly afterwards the Briqueterie, to the east, and the whole of the ridge to the west of the village were in our hands. Did Haig win the Battle of the Somme? The greatest skill and daring has been shown in the performance of all these duties, as well as in bombing expeditions. An Inter-Disciplinary Study of Learning in the 32nd Division on the Western Front, 1916—1918 pdf PhD. Travers blamed the management of early campaigns on the ethos of the pre-war officer corps, which was based on privilege, with a hierarchy intent on self-preservation and maintaining individual reputations.
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