General Douglas Haig 1st Earl Haig (1861 - 1928)

[Batgirl]

'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 British casualties that shocked the public back home. Passchendaele failed to reach Haig's objective - the Belgian coast - but nonetheless succeeded in weakening the Germans and helped prepare the way for their defeat in 1918.

Supported by King George V, Haig believed that the war could only be won on the Western Front. This caused friction with David Lloyd George, Secretary of State for War and Prime Minister from December 1916. Unlike Haig, he thought that the war could be accelerated by attacking from the east. However, Haig remained in his post and from March 1918 succeeded in stopping the last German offensive of the war (March-July 1918), before showing perhaps his best leadership in the victorious Allied assault from August onwards.

After the war, Haig organised the British Legion and travelled throughout the British Empire collecting money for former servicemen. He was created an earl in 1919.

BBC History