Field Marshal Haig: “Hero or Butcher of the Somme”
Field Marshal Haig: “Hero or Butcher of the Somme”
I consider the field marshal as a butcher and a hero for numerous reasons. While the insinuation of Haig as a butcher ignores many positives that he possessed, the implication of him being a hero also neglects negatives that the field marshal obtains. Although the winning of the war had come at the sacrifice of a vast number of soldiers, we must not forget that the general had achieved his primary objective even if it had been accomplished in the most gruesome ways. This essay will examine reasons which voice out opinions that support both arguments as well as my own.
One explanation of Haig being described as a butcher is the ineffectiveness as well as the inadequacy of his plans and preparations. Wires were not being cut and telephone messages were intercepted. This is explicitly depicted in source 7, as it describes how “hundreds of dead were strung out (on barbed wire) like wreckage washed up to a high water mark.” This view is further supported and portrayed in source 12 as Churchill shares his worries on the fact that “we have not gained in a month’s fighting as much ground as we were expected to gain in two hours” and that “we have not advanced two miles in a direct line at any point.” Although the above sources discuss the futility of his tactics source as it describes how the “barbed wire has never been so well cut, nor the artillery preparations so thorough.” But as this source was written by field marshal Haig we must be weary of the fact it the report might have been biased in a desperate attempt to keep his job. Yet another source that contradicts the above mentioned source is source 6 which is also written by Haig. He writes about the “very successful attack this morning” and how the attack “all went like clockwork”. But again as the writer had been Haig it is not a completely reliable source. Another reason for Haig’s portrayal as a butcher is his apparently uncaring and disrespectful
I consider the field marshal as a butcher and a hero for numerous reasons. While the insinuation of Haig as a butcher ignores many positives that he possessed, the implication of him being a hero also neglects negatives that the field marshal obtains. Although the winning of the war had come at the sacrifice of a vast number of soldiers, we must not forget that the general had achieved his primary objective even if it had been accomplished in the most gruesome ways. This essay will examine reasons which voice out opinions that support both arguments as well as my own.
One explanation of Haig being described as a butcher is the ineffectiveness as well as the inadequacy of his plans and preparations. Wires were not being cut and telephone messages were intercepted. This is explicitly depicted in source 7, as it describes how “hundreds of dead were strung out (on barbed wire) like wreckage washed up to a high water mark.” This view is further supported and portrayed in source 12 as Churchill shares his worries on the fact that “we have not gained in a month’s fighting as much ground as we were expected to gain in two hours” and that “we have not advanced two miles in a direct line at any point.” Although the above sources discuss the futility of his tactics source as it describes how the “barbed wire has never been so well cut, nor the artillery preparations so thorough.” But as this source was written by field marshal Haig we must be weary of the fact it the report might have been biased in a desperate attempt to keep his job. Yet another source that contradicts the above mentioned source is source 6 which is also written by Haig. He writes about the “very successful attack this morning” and how the attack “all went like clockwork”. But again as the writer had been Haig it is not a completely reliable source. Another reason for Haig’s portrayal as a butcher is his apparently uncaring and disrespectful