Haig’s Views

Source 1: Written by Haig in June 1916 before the battle began.

The nation must be taught to bear losses. No amount of skill on the part of the higher
commanders, no training, however good, on the part of the officers and men, no
superiority of arms and ammunition, however great, will enable victories to be won
without the sacrifice of men's lives. The nation must be prepared to see heavy casualty
lists.

Source 2: Written by Haig on 30 June 1916, the day before the attack started.
The men are in splendid spirits. Several have said that they have never before been so
instructed and informed of the nature of the operation before them.
The barbed wire has never been so well cut, nor the artillery preparation so thorough.
All the commanders are full of confidence.

Source 3: From a report by Haig on the first day of the attack, 1 July 1916
Very successful attack this morning. All went like clockwork. The battle is going very
well for us and already the Germans are surrendering freely. The enemy is so short of
men that he is collecting them from all parts of the line. Our troops are in wonderful
spirits and full of confidence.

Facts about the Battle of the Haig and the Somme

1. Haig was a cavalry officer – he had no experience of foot soldiering

2. He did not believe the machine gun was a weapon to be feared but could be
beaten with courage.
3. He bombarded the German lines for 7 days straight.
4. The wire had not been cut.
5. The Germans had dug trenches so deep that the bombardment had not
caused much damage.
6. As a general, Haig never personally visited the FRONT LINE.
7. There were 58,000 British casualties [wounded or killed] in just one day.
8. Many German prisoners were taken.
9. One Canadian battalion lost 700 out of 850 men.
10. Haig continued to use the same tactics even after the failure of the first
day.
11. The battle lasted until November 1916 by which time Britain had 419,654
dead or wounded
 Soldiers’ Views

Source 4: From an interview with Private George Coppard, who survived the Battle
of the Somme.
Quite as many [soldiers] died on the enemy wire as on the ground. It was clear that
there were no gaps in the wire at the time of attack. The Germans must have been
reinforcing the wire for months. It was so thick that daylight could barely be seen
through it.
How did the planners imagine that Tommies would get through the wire? Who told
them that artillery fire would pound such wire to pieces? Any Tommy could have told
them that shell fire lifts wire up and drops it down, often in a worse tangle than
before.
Source 5: Written by Lieutenant Raws in a letter to his family shortly before his
death on 23 August 1916
We are lousy [click for definition], stinking, ragged, unshaven and sleepless. My clothes
are rotten with other men's blood and partly spattered with a friend's brains. It is
horrible, but why should you people at home not know? I honestly believe that Goldie (a
mate) and many others were murdered through the stupidity of those in authority.
Historian Views

Source 6: Liddell Hart’ was an army officer and later historian who buy the 1930s
opposed Haig:
He [Haig] was a man of supreme egoism [big headedness] and utter lack of scruple –
who, to his over-weaning ambition, sacrificed hundreds of thousands of men

Source 7: John Terraine (1963) He began a revisionist move to see Haif beyond
the old role of a butcher.
It’s wrong to blame Haig. His job was to win the war and he did that.

Source 8: Gerard de Groot (1996) He said that Haig still needs to be seen as a
villain despite winning the war
Haig slept in a cosy bed in a quiet country castle. He ate the best food. The soldiers
lived in muddy, noisy trenches and shared their food with rats.

Source 9: Philip Warner (1991) He also used evidence to suggest Haig was no
different to any other General, it was just that he was in charge.
Haig was using the same tactics as all the other generals. What else could he have
done?

Tasks
WALT Why Haig got the title Butcher of the Somme.

What evidence we have to prove/disprove it.

What you think about the two interpretations

WILF To identify that there are two ways to look at Haig (4c)

To select evidence to support each interpretation (4a/5c)

To explain why you chose it (team) (5b – 6c)

To think how other events and debate may alter views (6-7)

1. Watch the Blackadder Goes Forth clip. How does General Haig come across?

2. Look at sources 1 and 2 on the page ‘Haig’s views’. What do you think Haig
expected to happen on the first day of the attack?

3. Why did this not happen? (Look also at the key facts on the ‘Soldiers’ views’
page).

4. Fill in the table using extracts from the sources – work in groups to achieve this.
Each table will focus on one area then report to the rest of the class.

• Group 1 and 2 will look at ‘Haig was ignorant [did not know] what was going on
at the front line.’
• Group 3 and 4 will look at ‘Haig did not care about loss of life.’
• Group 5 and 6 will look at ‘Haig genuinely believed that the attack was going
well.’

1. Does Haig deserve to be known as the Butcher of the Somme? Write up a

conclusion paragraph – approximately 6 lines selecting your most important piece
of evidence.
 Homework

Was Haig the Butcher of the Somme? – time 2 weeks

1. Introduction – say who Haig was and what the Battle of the Somme was
(use own research). Just keep it to the simple facts – nothing major

2. Paragraph 2
Then look at evidence to suggest Haig deserves to be known as the
Butcher of the Somme – use today’s work. Remember PEE – Say what
interpretation you are looking at. What evidence you have to support that
view and how the evidence backs it up. It may be you want to question
how reliable the evidence is

3. Paragraph 3
Then look at evidence to suggest Haig deserves to be seen as a good
General - again use today’s work. Remember PEE – Say what
interpretation you are looking at. What evidence you have to support that
view and how the evidence backs it up. It may be you want to question
how reliable the evidence is

4. Conclusion
Write up your conclusion. It could be some of you might want to think
about how opinions about Haig have changed over time and why that might
be. The history blog will have links on it – just google Brayton History
Blog and you’ll find it

At the end of your assignment write down any book and websites you have
used – this shows you have used independent research.
 How to write a conclusion

The most important thing to remember is to PEE

POINT – say what the answer is

EVIDENCE – say what evidence supports that choice

EXPLAIN – say how the evidence supports that choice (You might
even think about how reliable that evidence can be)

Sentence Starters – use these to make your conclusion – remember

to turn them into a paragraph

Overall, based on the evidence I feel that Haig (use the titles on the
columns)....

The most significant piece of evidence was ...

This is because......