Words fail me to express the admiration which I feel for the splendid resistance offered by all ranks of our Army under the most trying circumstances. [270] Other historians, notably John Keegan, refused to accept that the British Army underwent a "learning curve" of any sort; despite this example, Bourne wrote that there "is little disagreement among scholars about the nature of the military transformation". A particularly cutting reference was made to the limited gains made during the 1915–1917 offensives, Blackadder says: "Haig is about to make yet another gargantuan effort to move his drinks cabinet six inches close[r] to Berlin". Bond points out that the Cavalry represented less than three percent of the British Army by September 1916, whilst the British Army was the most mechanised force in the world by 1918, supported by the world's largest air force. [9], Criticism of Haig occurred in the memoirs of politicians. Haig did not approve of the Northcliffe press attacks on Kitchener, whom he thought a powerful military voice against the folly of civilians like Churchill (despite the fact the Kitchener had played a role in planning the Gallipoli expedition and was an opponent of the strong General Staff which Haig wanted to see). [89], The retreats of I and II Corps had to be conducted separately because of the Mormal Forest. [119] French tried in vain to forbid Haig to discuss his plans with Kitchener (on the grounds that Kitchener might leak them to politicians). The lessons of the Russo-Japanese War and the power of artillery were ignored, which caused costly tactical mistakes in the first half of the war. During a royal inspection of Aldershot, Haig had told King George V that he had "grave doubts" about French's military competence. [72], Upon the outbreak of war in August 1914, Haig helped organize the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), commanded by Field Marshal Sir John French. [142], Haig visited the battlefield (21 November), inspecting the fighting at Bourlon Wood through his binoculars. After the war, Haig was created The 1st Earl Haig (with a subsidiary viscountcy and a subsidiary barony) and received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. The following table shows the honours awarded to Haig: Haig received many honorary degrees from universities, including: The Argentine football club Club Atlético Douglas Haig, founded in 1918, is named after Haig. His service in South Africa gained him prominence and the attention of French and Kitchener, both of whom would have important roles in World War I. Genealogy for Douglas Haig Adams (1918 - 2007) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. He concealed this failure for the rest of his life[33] and later (circa 1910) recommended dropping the mathematics paper as a requirement. Haig travelled to London on French's behalf (23 November) to consult Kitchener about the plan to expand the BEF and reorganise it into two armies. [230] Of the 3,080 men sentenced to death in all theatres,[231] 346 were executed, 266 (77%) were for desertion, 37 for murder (who would probably have been hanged under civilian law at the time) and 18 for cowardice. Much loved father and father in law of Lance, and Warren and Duan. [147], Lloyd George got his wish to send British forces to Italy, after the Italian defeat at Caporetto in November. While later criticized for his failure to optimize the use of machine guns, Haig made a special trip to Enfield to study the Maxim Gun, and throughout the campaign commented on its worth. He was ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the British troops in France and Belgium during most part of World War I. Haig, who had been knighted for his work at the War Office, was promoted to lieutenant-general in November 1910. Rank: Lieutenant General. [85], After a fortnight of intense fighting I Corps had been reduced from 18,000 men to just under 3,000 effectives by 12 November. [65] He was also involved in setting up the Imperial General Staff (larger colonies were to have local sections of the General Staff, with trained staff officers), for which his work was praised by Haldane. [133], In March 1916 GHQ was moved from Saint-Omer to Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais, the town was close to ports and endowed with a well-developed infrastructure in the form of a military academy. During the Curragh Mutiny (March 1914) Haig urged caution on his chief of staff John Gough, whose brother Hubert Gough (then a cavalry brigadier, later GOC Fifth Army in WW1) was threatening to resign rather than coerce Ulstermen into a semi-independent Ireland. However Haig also rewrote his diary from this period, possibly to show himself in a better light and French in a poor one. The tactics that Haig pursued (a breakthrough battle deep into enemy territory) were beyond the mobility and range of artillery, which contributed to operational failures and heavy losses. [134], At the Versailles meeting, when the Supreme War Council was inaugurated (11 November), Lloyd George attributed the success of the Central Powers to unity and scoffed at recent Allied "victories", saying he wished "it had not been necessary to win so many of them". Douglas Haig (1861-1928) was a top British military leader during World War I. However, after his death he was increasingly criticised for issuing orders which led to excessive casualties of British troops under his command, particularly on the Western Front, earning him the nickname "Butcher of the Somme". A man who betrayed even his most devoted assistants as well as the Government which he served. Douglas Haig was born in Edinburgh on 19 June 1861, the 5th son of John Haig, a whisky distiller from Fife, and his wife Rachael. WO 100/118", "King's South Africa Medal roll, 14–15 and 18–20 Hussars, 16–17 and 21 Lancers. [53], After Roberts had won the conventional war, Kitchener was left in charge of fighting the Boers, who had taken to guerrilla warfare. [7] The Canadian War Museum comments, " His epic but costly offensives at the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917) have become nearly synonymous with the carnage and futility of First World War battles. Haig was irritated by the high-handed behaviour of the French, seizing roads which they had promised for British use and refusing to promise to cover the British right flank. In the event an Indian Corps would serve on the Western Front early in the conflict, and Indian troops were also used in comparatively small formations the Middle East. [145], At the Versailles meeting, when the Supreme War Council was inaugurated (11 November), Lloyd George attributed the success of the Central Powers to unity and scoffed at recent Allied "victories", saying he wished "it had not been necessary to win so many of them". Lawrence was a much stronger character than Kiggell and having made money in business and having no plans to stay in the Army after the War, was not beholden to Haig. For example, they chose Allenby as Master of the Drag Hunt, despite Haig being the better rider. [18] The family home was Haig House in Windygates, Fife. Haig's reactions to his corps' skirmish with German forces at Landrecies caused him to send an exaggerated report to French, which caused French to panic. As planned, Haig's Aldershot command was formed into I Corps. "[9] Called "Butcher Haig" for the two million British casualties under his command, he became the model of class-based incompetent commanders unable to grasp modern tactics and technology. He went up to … Winter quoted, out of context, Edmonds' advice to his researchers to write a draft narrative first, then invite interviewees to comment over lunch: Andrew Green, in his study of the Official History, wrote that this was done deliberately, for memories to be jogged by the draft narrative and that senior officers were more likely to be frank if approached informally. French, probably not wanting to part with a valuable assistant, recommended Herbert Lawrence for the vacant command of the 17th Lancers, but Roberts, now Commander-in-Chief in the UK, overruled him and gave it to Haig (May 1901). [8] Military History magazine in 2007 called him, "World War I's Worst General. Douglas Haig was Britain’s commander-in-chief during the Somme battle and took much criticism for the sheer loss of life in this battle. [161] After the battle, the press baron Lord Northcliffe reduced his support of Haig. [87] Following the success of the First Battle of Ypres, French, who had been ordered by his doctor to rest to relieve the strain on his heart, recommended Haig for immediate promotion to General. Haig was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Haig, who ran the family's successful whisky distillery. Consequently, within months the army had hired a dozen dentists and, by the end of the war, there were 831. [173], At the Doullens Conference (26 March), Haig accepted the appointment of Foch to coordinate reserves of all nationalities wherever he saw fit. Bourlon Wood fell on 23 November but German counter-attacks had begun. If this occurred, a decisive victory would be much more difficult to obtain. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1. The offensive threatened Hazebrouck, "the Amiens of the north", a key railhead through which supplies were brought from the Channel Ports – had it fallen the Channel Ports might have been at risk and Plumer's Second Army might have been cut off. Adored and much loved Father and Father in law of Jane & Warren Livingstone and Vicky & Mike Batchelor. Historical records and family trees related to Douglas Malloch. [79], Haig left India in December 1911, and took up an appointment as General Officer Commanding Aldershot Command (1st & 2nd Divisions and 1st Cavalry Brigade) in March 1912. [136], Lloyd George got his wish to send British forces to Italy, after the Italian defeat at Caporetto in November. He later claimed that these doubts had gone back to the Boer War but there appears to have been an element of later embellishment about this; Haig (who had criticised Kitchener, Roberts and others) had in fact praised French during the Boer War and had welcomed his appointment as CIGS in 1911. Field Marshal Douglas Haig was a British senior officer in World War One and commanded in the Battle of the Somme, which was arguably one of the bloodiest battles in British military history. Haig was educated at Clifton School, Bristol, and Brasenose College, Oxford, before becoming a cavalry officer at the age of 24. He also rejected claims that Haig was a traditionalist and focused only on cavalry tactics. [111], Haig had long thought French petty, jealous, unbalanced ("like a bottle of soda water … incapable of thinking … and coming to a reasoned decision"), overly quick to meddle in party politics and easily manipulated by Henry Wilson. Haig was one of the chief inspirations for the character of Herbert Curzon in C. S. Forester's novel The General, a sharp satire of the mentality of old-school British officers in the Great War. If this happened the million or so German troops located on the Eastern Front would be transferred to the west by late 1917 or early 1918. [38], In early January Haig was picked by Evelyn Wood (now Adjutant-General) as one of three recent staff college graduates requested by Kitchener for a campaign in the Mahdist War in the Soudan. [153], Haig visited the battlefield (21 November), inspecting the fighting at Bourlon Wood through his binoculars. There was also argument over the placement of the reserve, XI Corps (Haking) with the 21st and 24th Divisions (inexperienced New Army divisions), which Haig wanted close to the front. He maintained ties with the British Army after his retirement; he was honorary colonel of the 17th/21st Lancers (having been honorary colonel of the 17th Lancers from 1912), Royal Horse Guards, The London Scottish and the King's Own Scottish Borderers. Haig continued as the commanding officer of the 17th Lancers until 1903, stationed in Edinburgh. From 1 July to 18 November 1916, Haig directed the British portion of the Battle of the Somme. A failed attack by Smith-Dorrien's II Corps on Messines–Wytschaete (14–15 December) was blamed on poor GHQ staff work, and on 18 December, Haig met French, who said he wanted to sack the BEF chief of staff Murray, whose performance had been unsatisfactory throughout the campaign and promote his deputy Henry Wilson. Haig was taught that victory must come from defeating the main enemy army in battle, and that as in Napoleonic warfare, attrition (the "wearing out fight") was merely a prelude to the commitment of reserves for a decisive battlefield victory; traces of this thought can be seen at Loos and the Somme. [130] Lloyd George, who had become Prime Minister in December 1916, infuriated Haig and Robertson by placing the BEF under the command of the new French Commander-in-Chief Robert Nivelle, at a stormy conference at Calais. [265], One of Haig's defenders was the military historian John Terraine, who published a biography of Haig (The Educated Soldier) in 1963, in which Haig was portrayed as a "Great Captain" of the calibre of the Duke of Marlborough or the Duke of Wellington. [54], Alexandra Henrietta Louisa Haig[55] (9 March 1907 – 1997); First married to Rear-Admiral Clarence Dinsmore Howard-Johnston, by whom she had had three children. [335] In August 1920, the Great Central Railway gave the name Earl Haig to one of their newly built 4-6-0 express passenger locomotives, no. [27], Early in his military career, Haig played polo for England on a tour of the United States (August 1886). There is no consensus on the speed of the learning curve. [89] Haig received promotion to general on 16 November 1914. Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig KT GCB OM GCVO KCIE ADC (born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 19 June 1861, died in London on 29 January 1928) was a British Army general in World War I.. In 1633 he was banished and forfeit for treason. This may have made Rawlinson reluctant to stand up to Haig thereafter. [90], On 25 August the French commander Joseph Joffre ordered his forces to retreat to the Marne, which compelled the BEF to further withdraw. He became a controversial figure because of his war strategy of ‘Attrition,’ which led to heavy casualties (around 2 … When Haig was younger he went to a good school and in … The uninspiring results on the Western Front in 1917 were thrown into unwelcome contrast by Allenby's capture of Jerusalem in December 1917, a propaganda coup from a campaign which Haig and Robertson had regarded as a waste of resources (Allenby had in fact been sent out to the Middle East after his failure at Arras earlier in the year). This was not what Joffre wanted. [166], Haig also recommended that the British should keep the initiative and draw in German reserves by renewing the offensive around Ypres, a proposal which did not meet with political approval, and besides the logistical infrastructure was not available for a breakout from the Ypres salient. The assault on Haig's decisions began with the memoirs of the politicians. [6] His wife became Lady Haig in 1909 and the Countess Haig when her husband was granted an earldom in 1919. Haig had none. [163] Haig was required to dismiss Charteris. Lloyd George thought Haig's letter "perfectly insolent" and that the government "had the right to investigate any matter connected with the war that they pleased". People Projects Discussions Surnames [198], Wilson's diary for their meeting on 25 March (11am) describes Haig as "cowed" and saying that unless the French sent more help the BEF was beaten and "it would be better to make peace on any terms we could". The Royal Artillery grew by 520 percent and the engineers who implemented combined arms tactics grew by 2,212 percent. We owe this to the determined fighting and self-sacrifice of our troops. [74], Haig was appointed Aide-de-Camp to King George V in 1914. [99] Haig received promotion to general on 16 November 1914. [54] Throughout the war Haig's sister Henrietta had been lobbying Evelyn Wood for her brother to have command of a cavalry regiment of his own when the war was over. [4], Australian historian Les Carlyon wrote that while Haig was slow to adapt to the correct use of artillery in sufficient quantities to support infantry attacks and was generally sceptical that the science of such doctrine had much place in military theory, he was fully supportive of excellent corps and field commanders such as Herbert Plumer, Arthur Currie and John Monash, who seem to best grasp and exercise these concepts, especially later in the war. [114], The war was not going well – besides the failure at Cape Helles (landing 25 April), Bulgaria had joined the Central Powers (Serbia was soon overrun) and Italian attacks on the Isonzo had made negligible progress. [131] Haig and Kiggell met Joffre and his chief of staff de Castelnau at Chantilly (14 February). Some of his wartime decisions led to huge numbers of casualties (dead or wounded soldiers). [119][120], Lloyd George visited Haig at GHQ and afterwards wrote to Haig, to say that he had been impressed by his "grip" and by the "trained thought of a great soldier". [193] There is no record of the telegram, and Milner and Wilson were in fact already on their way to France at the time. [39] Haig was promoted to the substantive rank of Major on 26 June 1899. Travers blames the management of early campaigns on the ethos of the pre-war officer corps. [241] His military career ended in January 1920. The offensive spirit of the infantry, quality of the soldier, rapid rifle fire and the idea of the soldier being the most important aspect of the battlefield prevailed. [194] It has been suggested that Haig and Lawrence, on the long drive back to GHQ from their meeting with Petain may simply have misunderstood his intentions, and that any factual errors in Haig's diary for this period were honest if mistaken recollections. He thought the Somme "a welter of slaughter which … left the (Allied) armies weaker in relation to the Germans than when it began". Shortage of shells meant that only a thirty-five-minute bombardment was possible but the small front of the attack gave it the concentration to succeed. Having got their own way, the French then postponed the attack as they picked new attacking ground in Champagne and arranged for extra shelling at Vimy, in both cases because of the very reasons – German-held villages and other obstructions – to which the British generals had objected. Lloyd George thought Haig's letter "perfectly insolent" and that the government "had the right to investigate any matter connected with the war that they pleased". [217] They told Haig that he should consider himself subordinate to Foch for the time being and that they were no longer interested in sacking him (this may have been untrue – as late as August, on the eve of the battle of Amiens, Lloyd George may have been trying to replace Haig with Cavan[218]). [281], Total British First World War deaths seemed especially severe as they fell among certain groups such as Pals Battalions (volunteers who enlisted together and were allowed to serve together – and were often killed together) or the alleged "Lost Generation" of public school and university educated junior officers. Like French, Haig wanted to push along the North Sea Coast to Ostend and Zeebrugge but Joffre did not want the British acting so independently. French and Haig were ordered to leave Ladysmith as the four-month siege began, to take charge of the new Cavalry Division arriving from the United Kingdom. Haig strengthened his case by reports that captured enemy officers had been astonished at the British failure to exploit the attack and by complaining about the government's foot-dragging at introducing conscription and the commitment of troops to sideshows like Salonika and Suvla Bay (6 August), at a time when the Germans were calling up their 1918 Class early. However, Lloyd George was unable to intervene in strategy, as General Sir William Robertson, Chief of the Imperial General Staff had been given direct right of access to the Cabinet, in order to bypass Lloyd George's predecessor Kitchener. The battle to defend Paris began on 5 September and became known as the first Battle of the Marne. [108] Sir John French was satisfied that the attacks had served to take pressure off the French at their request but Haig still felt that German reserves were being exhausted, bringing victory nearer. His mother, Rachel (daughter of Hugh Veitch of Stewartfield), was from a gentry family fallen into straitened circumstances. [28][29], Haig then saw overseas service in India (sent out November 1886), where he was appointed the regiment's adjutant in 1888. [116] Haig and French, who seemed ill and short of breath, had a final handover meeting (18 Dec, the day before the formal change of command), at which Haig agreed that Churchill—recently resigned from the Cabinet and vetoed from command of a brigade—should be given command of a battalion. Cavalry played a leading role in this stage of the war, including the relief of Kimberley (15 February 1900), which featured a spectacular British cavalry charge at Klip Drift. [197] The letter is ambiguous and does not specifically mention a retreat "to" the ports. What a Lovely War, in which much of the dialogue is taken from Clark's The Donkeys. [263] Lloyd George's biographer John Grigg (2002) attributed his vitriol to a guilty conscience, that he had not intervened to put a stop to the Passchendaele Offensive. The Germans did not initially realise the importance of Amiens as an objective. [181], Haig inspected Fifth Army (7–9 March) and noted widespread concerns, which he shared, at lack of reserves – he released one division from Flanders to Fifth Army and deployed another, under GHQ control, to the rear of Fifth Army. [338] Earl Haig Secondary School in Toronto was also named after Haig. War Department. [209], The near-debacle of March 1918 was an object of political controversy. [112] Haig was increasingly irritated by French's changes of orders and mercurial changes of mood as to the length of the war, which French now expected to last into 1916. Allied attacks in the west were needed to take pressure off the Russians, who were being flung out of Poland (after the Fall of Warsaw, 5 August). [88], At this point it was thought that the war would end once the Germans were defeated by the Russians at Lodz and the difficulties of attacking on the Western Front were not yet appreciated. Arguments continued over the British taking over more front line from the French. He would also be President of the Army Polo Committee and founder of the Indian Polo Association. On 1 September, Lord Kitchener intervened by visiting French and ordering him to re-enter the battle and coordinate with Joffre's forces. Lord Stamfordham, the King's Secretary, telephoned Robertson to ask his opinion of French and Robertson conferred with Haig—who was pushing for Robertson to be appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff—before giving his opinion. Victoria Doris Rachel Haig (7 November 1908 – 1993) George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig (15 March 1918 – 10 July 2009) Lady Irene Violet Freesia Janet Augustia Haig (7 October 1919 – 2001); wife of Gavin Astor Haig had used his leave in 1905 to lobby for a job at the War Office, but the proposal was rejected by H. O. Arnold-Forster the Secretary of State for War as too blatantly relying on royal influence. The BEF did not participate in the battle until 9 September. Travers wrote that initiative was discouraged, making advancement in a learning curve slow and that the ethos of the army was pro-human and anti-technological. Haig was irritated by Sir John French (influenced by Henry Wilson into putting his faith in a French thrust up from the Ardennes) who was only concerned with the three German corps in front of the BEF at Mons and who ignored intelligence reports of German forces streaming westwards from Brussels, threatening an encirclement from the British left. He was Senior Under-Officer, was awarded the Anson Sword, and passed out first in the order of merit. Rachel's co… At dinner afterwards Haig abandoned his prepared text, and although he wrote that his remarks were "well received", John Charteris recorded that they were "unintelligible and unbearably dull" and that the visiting dignitaries fell asleep. [211] Haig had opposed Maurice in taking his concerns into public, but was disappointed at how Lloyd George was able to get off the hook with a "claptrap speech". French also communicated with Conservative leaders and to David Lloyd George who now became Minister of Munitions in the new coalition government. [105], Haig inspected the Loos area (24 June) and expressed dissatisfaction with the ground (slag heaps and pit head towers which made good observation points for the Germans). Carlyon also wrote out that there was a case to answer, for his support of more dubious commanders such as Ian Hamilton, Aylmer Hunter-Weston and Hubert Gough.[266]. Haig volunteered to write to J. Such trauma was still poorly understood at that time. Haig predicted that the war would last several years and that an army of a million men, trained by officers and NCOs withdrawn from the BEF, would be needed.