Does field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig deserve the name ‘The Butcher of the Somme’? The battle of the Somme took place in 1916 and was Haig’s idea. He wanted to draw enemy troops away from the battle at Verdun to give the allies a better chance of victory. Haig’s tactic was to send troops over the top to attack the German trenches and end the stalemate. Before the troops were sent over the top there would be severe artillery bombardment of the enemy trenches. This was designed to damage or destroy
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Why Was the First Day of the Battle of the Somme (1st July 1916) Such A Disaster? The Battle of the Somme began on the 1st of July 1916 just north of Somme. This was over a month earlier than planned but the British needed to attack early in order to draw out the German troops from Verdun and save the French army. The battle was intended to create a rupture in the German line which could then be exploited so the Allies could get deep into the enemy lines. But the first day was a disaster and
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To what extent does Haig deserve the title “Butcher of the Somme”? On 27th June 1916 the Battle of Somme began. This battle is also known as the battle of the most dead soldiers in all the wars. Most of the historians blamed Haig for all the deaths and casualties who are known as the orthodox but there were many contradictions on this point by many historians who are known as revisionist. This essay is going to be looking at both the perspective and then will conclude by evaluating on which side
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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 was actually not a disaster and that Haig employed a good tactic. I will explored both sides of the argument and then conclude with my overall
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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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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 the Germans. He won
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Why was the first day of the Battle of the Somme on the 1st of July such a disaster? On 1st July 1916‚ the first phase of the allied offensive‚ took place on the Northern side of the Western front and was known as the Battle of the Somme. The main reason for the battle was to take pressure off the French army‚ which had been under heavy attack at Verdun since February‚ and was close to cracking. It was hoped that a major British offensive on the Somme would force the Germans to withdraw troops
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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 sources. Firstly‚ he should in fact have the name "The Butcher of the Somme" because of his attitudes towards modern technology and the way
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The Battle of the Somme When and where did the battle occur? The Battle of the Somme lasted for over 4 months‚ between 1 July and 16 November 1916. It was fought on both sides of the Somme river in Northern country France near the current border of France and Germany. It was fought at a part of the Western front at the time. Why was the battle fought? In 1916‚ the Allied forces of Russia‚ Italy‚ France and Great Britain had a joint strategy of attack against Germany and its allies. The Russians
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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‚ and a further 40000
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