How Important Was Douglas Haig’s Role in the Successes and Failures of the British Army on the Western Front From 1916-1918?

In December of 1915, Douglas Haig was appointed leader of the British army on the western front. Following his orders, thousands of men died and important battles were lost. On the other hand however, his instruction led to the eventual downfall of an important German strongpoint which played a crucial role in Britain’s triumph in the First World War. This considered, how vital was Haig in the equally tragic and triumphant outcomes of the battles he planned?

Haig’s first battle of World War One was the relatively brief conflict of Neuve Chapelle in early 1915. The battle was begun by Sir John French, commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force. The battle was led by Haig’s first army, with four divisions of 40,000 men being dispersed along a 3 kilometre stretch. Beginning with a 35 minute bombardment of 342 guns over 2000 yards. As was stated by the historian Martin Gilbert, during the initial 35 minutes that begun the battle of Neuve Chapelle, more shells were fired that the course of the entirety of the Boer War, emphasizing just how far warfare had progressed in the relatively short space of 15 years.  It took only four hours to take the village, courtesy of well planned offensives carried out by a combination of British and Indian soldiers. As aforementioned the battle was fairly short in comparison to battles which took place later in the war, beginning on the 10th March and ending three days later on the 13th. Despite this the losses were high. After the initial success, communications and supply problems wreaked havoc with Haig’s troops. During the interference, the Germans sent backup to Neuve Chapelle, beginning their counter attack on the 12th. The British found it nigh on impossible to gain more ground, and after a failed attack which lost all the 1000 men sent out to fight, the battle was called off the following day. During this time, 7000 British soldiers were killed, accompanied by 4,200 Indians. However, the German army were thought to have suffered similar casualties, and with 1,200 German troops captured by the British, would this battle foreshadow the bittersweet events of Haig’s war?

July of 1916 marked the beginning of the battle of the Somme – a battle which raged for four long months, claiming the lives of some 420,000 soldiers, 20,000 falling on the first day alone. This has been long since known as one of the greatest travesties of modern warfare. It was this battle which earned Haig the infamous nickname “The Butcher of The Somme”. Haig had been trained in the art of warfare in a time before machine guns and tanks, moulded into a devout believer in the usefulness of cavalry. As a result he had little to no knowledge of how to use the vast amounts of artillery at his disposal in order to win the war. With modern weapons being the primary offensive available to Haig, his lack of experience using them weakened his tactics severely. Despite his poorly lacking skills with such weapons, he proceeded to utilise them confidently; it was this misplaced confidence which would be his downfall. He consistently overestimated the power of his arms and the damage they would inflict. His initial idea revolved around using heavy artillery over a rather broad front. This significantly weakened the power of the weapons, rather than if they had been compacted into a denser area. The main aim was to demolish the enemies’ defensive barbed wire by dropping numerous shells directly on top of it, in an effort to clear the way for the cavalry to cross no-mans-land and defeat the German troops. Perhaps if Haig had been better educated, he would have realised that barbed wire is nigh on indestructible, the explosions would only further tangle it, thus creating an even deadlier battle front for those who would face it. In hindsight it is easy to blame Haig for his foolish and reckless actions in the war. With a lack of understanding concerning his weaponry that even he must have been aware of, most selfish people would have asked for advice from someone better acquainted with it. In his ignorance he dismissed the danger he was thrusting upon his men, although with his none too subtle belief in attrition, it could be seen that he was well aware of the risks he was taking. Despite his arrogance and refusal to accept the suggestions of others, not all the factors were in Haig’s control. Whilst yes, he forced himself to remain blissfully ignorant of the lives he was so needlessly ending, he was perhaps not aware of the full extent of the damage. Living and sleeping in safety, a good forty miles behind the lines, Douglas Haig relied on messengers to bring him news of what was happening at the front. Whether you see him as a coward for “fighting” the war from the lap of luxury, it was not uncommon practise for generals of the time. Be this as it may, an important point to note would be the unreliable intelligence that supplied Haig with information to do with affairs at the frontline. Despite how vital it was that he knew exactly what was happening, the information he was given was often altered in an attempt not to over worry the general. Was this a factor that influenced the decision Haig made in regards to his army. Perhaps, perhaps not, after all, upon learning of the devastating casualty figures supplied for the first day alone he merely stated that it was “not a bad start”. Despite this we must take into account that Haig was deeply religious man, in his mind it was not a tragedy to die on the battle field, he saw it as a reward, an honour to die for a Christian cause.