’Was general haig the butcher of the Somme?’ Introduction General Haig’s title of ’butcher of the Somme’ originated after the First World War‚ when‚ due to a large number of casualties Britain suffered from the war and mostly the Somme. The people of Britain wanted someone to blame. This was a coping mechanism in which people could deal with the loss of the ’lost generation’. Feild Marshall Haig has often been called the butcher of the Somme because 20000 soldiers died on the first day of the battle
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The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the first world war‚ which was fought between July 1st and November 1st in 1918. It was named so as the battle was fought near the Somme river in France. On the first day alone‚ our side suffered more than 57 thousand casualties and by the last day of the battle we had lost more than 1.5 million men. Sir Douglas Haig was British commander on the Western Front during the majority of the first world war. The high casualties of the battle were
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“HAIG WAS A BUTCHER WHO THOUGHT NOTHING OF SENDING MEN TO THEIR DEATHS.” DO YOU AGREE? Field Marshal Douglas Haig was a British senior officer during World War 1. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War. This meant that he was in charge of the Battle of the Somme. His part in this battle has led to split views on him as an army officer. Some believe that his tactic was poor and he was mindlessly sending men to their deaths. However‚ some believe that the Somme
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Did General Haig deserve to be the Butcher of the Somme? 1 July 1916‚ Battle of Somme started‚ fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place on either side of the River Somme in France‚ and it ended on 18 November 1916. The battle caused millions of deaths and injuries between both sides. The war changed peoples’ thinking towards war. From a great adventure‚ to a bloody event. General Douglas Haig was one of the commanders from the British
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Was General Haig to blame for so many deaths at the battle of the Somme? In this essay I will be trying to answer the following question: ‘do you think General Haig was to blame for so many deaths in the battle of the Somme?’ Haig became General of the Army on the 10th of December 1915 at the age of 54. At the time‚ he appeared to be the best man for the job as he had led and won successful battles in his past. In 1916‚ he launched an attack. His attack took place near the Somme River‚ against
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Does General Haig deserve the nickname ‘Butcher of the Somme’? Assessments of the Battle Events leading to the battle | Back to top | The main job of the British forces in 1914 and 1915 was to support the French. This is because the British Army was very small. In 1914‚ it had about 250‚000 men scattered around the British Empire. In that year‚ the British sent 5 divisions (a division was usually about 15‚000 men) to the front in France. The French army had 72 divisions and the Germans had
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The Battle of the Somme In February 1916‚ after a year of stalemate‚ the Germans decided to attack France and capture strategic French forts in the area of Verdun‚ 15 miles west of Paris. They aimed to ’bleed France white’ with the attrition tactic developed by their commander‚ Falkenhayn. In an attempt to force the Germans away from Verdun‚ the French allies from Britain‚ led by General Haig‚ planned an artillery bombardment of the Germans. The battle carried on for a whole 10 months with a
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The Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme took place between 1st July 1916 to 18th November 1916. It was fought on the north and south banks of the river Somme‚ hence the name. The plan was to redirect the German armies from attacking Verdun (which was lower down the Somme)‚ which was a town that was very near Paris‚ the capital. The Battle had some positive and negative views. The best thing that happened during the battle was that tactics were developed that enabled the British to win the
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Does General Haig deserve to be remembered as ‘the butcher of the Somme’? General Haig was a famous general who won the last war in the First World War‚ he should be remembered as a hero‚ but why do people reckon him to be the opposite‚ as a butcher? As the ‘Butcher of the Somme ’? In my point of view‚ I think of general as a butcher rather than a hero‚ for he‚ in the first battle in the First World War‚ the battle of Somme‚ he used 420000 soldiers to defeat 500000 Germans soldiers and gain 10
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Douglas Haig was appointed commander of the army on tenth of December 1915 - he was fifty-four at the time and he had had a very successful military career. Haig decided to attack the Germans at the river Somme in 1916 to attract German soldiers from the town of Verdun where they were fighting the French and had almost broken through. But even though he was victorious there was a very high casualty figure. I will explore whether Haig deserves the title ‘Butcher of the Somme‚’ with reference to multiple
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