Douglas Haig 1st Earl Haig

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Douglas Haig Haig, 1st Earl 1861–1928, British field marshal. He saw active service in Sudan (1898) and in the South African War (1899–1902) and upon the outbreak of World War I (1914) was given command of the 1st Army Corps in France. In Dec., 1915, he became commander in chief of the British expeditionary force. Under pressure from the French commander, Joseph Joffre, he undertook the battle of the Somme (July–Nov., 1916), which resulted in very heavy casualties and little territorial gain. The British prime minister, David Lloyd George, constantly antagonistic to Haig and unreceptive to his requests from the field, exacerbated the situation by putting the British troops under the orders of the French commander in 1917. Haig thus conducted the Passchendaele campaign (July–Nov., 1917; see Ypres, battles of ) under orders from Gen. Robert Nivelle, while the French army was being reorganized after a mutiny. Haig was under continual French pressure to take over more of the front, and until the joint command of himself and Gen. Ferdinand Foch was instituted (1918), the strategy and conduct of the war were tragically mismanaged. Haig has been much criticized for the staggering casualties sustained. He was made an earl (1919) and devoted the remainder of his life to organizing the British Legion and raising funds for disabled ex-servicemen.

Bibliography: See his private papers, ed. by R. Blake (1952); biography by D. Cooper (2 vol., 1935–36); G. S. Duncan, Douglas Haig as I Knew Him (1967); D. Winter Haig's Command (1991); J. P. Harris, Douglas Haig and the First World War (2008).

Haig, Douglas, 1st Earl Haig of Bemersyde (b. 19 June 1861, d. 30 Jan. 1928). British soldier Born in Bemersyde, Berwickshire, he was educated at Clifton College, then moved on to Oxford and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He joined the Royal Hussars in 1895, and first saw active service in the Sudan. He also served in the South African (Boer) War, and was Chief of Staff of the Indian army in 1909–11. In World War I, he commanded the 1st Army Corps at Ypres and Loos. In 1915, he became Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, succeeding John French. He was committed to the doctrine of destroying the enemy through a decisive offensive. Winning a battle was not so much a factor of innovative or superior tactics, but of superior strength, willpower, and resources. His belief in the value of the cavalry demonstrated his failure to appreciate the realities of modern, twentieth-century warfare. Full, frontal attacks against the entrenched Germans resulted in the loss of around 400,000 men at the battle of the Somme, while these tactics at Passchendaele in 1917 resulted in similar losses. He had more success in his final campaign, in September-November 1918, which ended the war more quickly than many had predicted, though victory resulted perhaps more from the genius of Marshal Foch.

Haig, Sir Douglas, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928). Soldier. Before 1914 Haig was recognized as one of the outstanding soldiers of his generation. In December 1915 he replaced Sir John French as commander-in-chief of the British armies in France. He fought two of the most costly and controversial battles in British history, the Somme (1916) and third Ypres (Passchendaele, 1917), because he was convinced that the German army would run out of soldiers if he continued to attack. His reputation never recovered from the casualties his own army suffered and these battles have overshadowed the far more successful campaign he waged between August and November 1918 which finally broke the German army's resistance. Haig remains a figure of great controversy. Despite attempts by some historians to portray him as an ‘educated soldier’, his popular image remains that of a callous butcher. In reality, he was a man of limited professional ability, sustained by a deep religious faith.

David French

Haig, Sir Douglas, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928). Soldier. Before 1914 Haig was recognized as one of the outstanding soldiers of his generation. In December 1915 he replaced Sir John French as commander‐in‐chief of the British armies in France. He fought two of the most costly and controversial battles in British history, the Somme (1916) and third Ypres (1917), convinced that the German army would run out of soldiers if he continued to attack. Haig remains a figure of great controversy. Despite attempts by some historians to portray him as an ‘educated soldier’, his popular image remains that of a callous butcher.