Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig
On the 18th November 1916, the Battle of the Somme ended when German troops retired from the final large British attack at the Battle of the Ancre amid worsening weather. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig called a halt to the operation, claiming the Somme offensive to have been successful.
Haig used 750,000 men against the German front-line. However, the bombardment failed to destroy either the barbed-wire or the concrete bunkers protecting the German soldiers. This meant that the Germans could exploit their good defensive positions on higher ground when the British and French troops attacked at 7.30 on the morning of the 1st July. The BEF suffered 58,000 casualties, therefore making it the worse day in the history of the British Army.
In the 1920s Haig was severely criticized for the tactics used at offensives such as the one at the Somme. This included the prime minister of the time, David Lloyd George: "It is not too much to say that when the Great War broke out our Generals had the most important lessons of their art to learn. Before they began they had much to unlearn. Their brains were cluttered with useless lumber, packed in every niche and corner. Some of it was never cleared out to the end of the War. They knew nothing …show more content…
Haig showed no confidence, and in January 1918, he was very pessimistic about the prospects. He judged that the Americans would not be ready and that “if the enemy attacked in force the situation would be very serious by the autumn.” Lloyd George would do so. For him, Haig did not win the victory of 1918 – Foch did (and who was responsible for the appointment of Foch as Supreme Commander but Lloyd
Haig used 750,000 men against the German front-line. However, the bombardment failed to destroy either the barbed-wire or the concrete bunkers protecting the German soldiers. This meant that the Germans could exploit their good defensive positions on higher ground when the British and French troops attacked at 7.30 on the morning of the 1st July. The BEF suffered 58,000 casualties, therefore making it the worse day in the history of the British Army.
In the 1920s Haig was severely criticized for the tactics used at offensives such as the one at the Somme. This included the prime minister of the time, David Lloyd George: "It is not too much to say that when the Great War broke out our Generals had the most important lessons of their art to learn. Before they began they had much to unlearn. Their brains were cluttered with useless lumber, packed in every niche and corner. Some of it was never cleared out to the end of the War. They knew nothing …show more content…
Haig showed no confidence, and in January 1918, he was very pessimistic about the prospects. He judged that the Americans would not be ready and that “if the enemy attacked in force the situation would be very serious by the autumn.” Lloyd George would do so. For him, Haig did not win the victory of 1918 – Foch did (and who was responsible for the appointment of Foch as Supreme Commander but Lloyd