How should General Haig be remembered?

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How should General Haig be remembered?

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Objectives

• In this activity you will
• Discuss how you think we should remember General
  Haig.

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Why should Haig be remembered?

• General Douglas Haig became Commander in Chief
  of the British forces on the Western Front from
  December 1915.
• He planned and ordered the attack on the Somme.
• He planned and ordered the Battle of Amiens,
  August 1918.
• Was he a hero or a villain?

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The Battle of the Somme

• The British army suffered 60,000 casualties (just
  under 20,000 of whom were killed) on the first
  day.
• Heavy bombardment didnt work.
• They gained 6 miles by November.
• There was conflict with Lloyd George over conduct
  of the war.
• General Haig cared nothing about casualties.
• He believed in a war of attrition.
• He was called the Butcher of the Somme.

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Autumn, 1918

• General Haig
• Developed new and successful tactics
• Effectively used tanks and gas
• Attacked weak points rather than strong points
• Kept the war mobile
• Used air power effectively
• Captured 188,700 prisoners nearly as many as the
  French, Belgian and Americans put together
• Cooperated effectively with the French and
  Americans.

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General Haig
If we are to criticise Haig for his mistakes in
1916 and 1917, then it is perhaps only fair that,
at the same time, he should receive due credit
for his decisive, but forgotten victories of
1918.

• Professor Peter Simpkin, Senior Historian at the
  Imperial War Museum, quoted in Ben Walsh (p 32),
  GCSE Modern World History, published by John
  Murray, 2001

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How should General Haig be remembered?

• Over to you
• How should we remember Haig?
• How was he remembered in 1916?
• How was he remembered in 1918?
• How was he remembered after World War One?
• How is he remembered today?